Etymology 1 Edit
Old French , ( applier French ), from appliquer Latin applicō ( “ join, fix, or attach to ” ); from + ad plicō ( “ fold, twist together ” ). See , applicant . ply
apply ( third-person singular simple present , applies present participle , applying simple past and past participle ) applied
( transitive ) To lay or place; to put (one thing to another)
to apply cream to a rash
1697, John Dryden, Translation of Virgil's Aeneid:
He said, and to the sword his throat applied.
( transitive ) To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case; to appropriate; to devote
to apply funds to the repayment of a debt
( transitive ) To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable, fitting, or relative; as, to apply the testimony to the case
He was applied the nickname "Shorty".
(Can we Milton,
date this quote?) Yet God at last To Satan, first in sin, his doom
( transitive ) To fix closely; to engage and employ diligently, or with attention; to attach; to incline.
( transitive ) To betake; to address; to refer; generally used reflexively.
[… ] applied to grisly Pluto
(Can we Johnson
date this quote?) I
applied myself to him for help.
( intransitive ) To submit oneself as a candidate (with the adposition " to" designating the recipient of the submission, and the adposition " for" designating the position).
I recently applied to the tavern for a job as a bartender.
Most of the colleges she applied to were ones she thought she had a good chance of getting into.
Many of them don't know it, but almost a third of the inmates are eligible to apply for parole or work-release programs.
( intransitive ) To pertain or be relevant to a specified individual or group.
That rule only applies to foreigners.
( obsolete ) To busy; to keep at work; to ply.
Sir Philip Sidney
She was skillful in
applying his humours.
( obsolete ) To visit.
His armour was so clear, / And he
applied each place so fast, that like a lightning thrown / Out of the shield of Jupiter, in every eye he shone.
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Related terms Edit
to put to use for a purpose
to betake, address
please add this translation if you can Chinese:
please add this translation if you can
to submit oneself as a candidate
to be relevant to a specified individual
Etymology 2 Edit
+ apple -y
apply ( comparative , more apply superlative ) most apply
Alternative spelling of appley