* Verb: This is the most common use, describing the action of cooking something with hot oil or fat.
* Example: "I fried the chicken until it was crispy."
* Adjective: Describing something that has been cooked in this way.
* Example: "I ate a fried egg for breakfast."
* Past participle: Used in a verb phrase to form different tenses.
* Example: "The fish had been fried for too long."
So, the part of speech of "fried" depends on its role in the sentence.