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Webster 1913 Edition

Apply

Ap-ply′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Applied
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Applying
.]
[OF.
aplier
, F.
appliquer
, fr. L.
applicare
to join, fix, or attach to;
ad
+
plicare
to fold, to twist together. See
Applicant
,
Ply
.]
1.
To lay or place; to put or adjust (one thing to another); – with to;
as, to
apply
the hand to the breast; to
apply
medicaments to a diseased part of the body.
He said, and the sword his throat
applied
.
Dryden.
2.
To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case; to appropriate; to devote;
as, to
apply
money to the payment of a debt
.
3.
To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable, fitting, or relative;
as, to
apply
the testimony to the case; to
apply
an epithet to a person.
Yet God at last
To Satan, first in sin, his doom
applied
.
Milton.
4.
To fix closely; to engage and employ diligently, or with attention; to attach; to incline.
Apply
thine heart unto instruction.
Prov. xxiii. 12.
5.
To direct or address.
[R.]
Sacred vows . . .
applied
to grisly Pluto.
Pope.
6.
To betake; to address; to refer; – used reflexively.
I
applied
myself to him for help.
Johnson.
7.
To busy; to keep at work; to ply.
[Obs.]
She was skillful in
applying
his “humors.”
Sir P. Sidney.
8.
To visit.
[Obs.]
And he
applied
each place so fast.
Chapman.
Applied chemistry
.
See under
Chemistry
.
–
Applied mathematics
.
See under
Mathematics
.

Ap-ply′

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To suit; to agree; to have some connection, agreement, or analogy;
as, this argument
applies
well to the case
.
2.
To make request; to have recourse with a view to gain something; to make application. (to); to solicit;
as, to
apply
to a friend for information
.
3.
To ply; to move.
[R.]
I heard the sound of an oar
applying
swiftly through the water.
T. Moore.
4.
To apply or address one’s self; to give application; to attend closely (to).

Webster 1828 Edition

Apply

APPLY'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. applico, of ad and plico, to fold or knit together; Gr. to knit, or twist; Eng. ply, display, and employ.]
1.
To lay on; to put one thing to another; as, to apply the hand to the breast; to apply medicaments to a diseased part of the body.
2.
To use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case; as, to apply a sum of money to the payment of a debt.
3.
To put, refer or use, as suitable or relative to something; as, to apply the testimony to the case.
4.
To fix the mind; to engage and employ with attention; as, apply thy heart to instruction.
5.
To address or direct; as, 'Sacred vows applied to Pluto.'
6.
To betake; to give the chief part of time and attention; as, to apply one's self to the study of botany. This is essentially the fourth sense.
7.
To make application; to have recourse by request; as, to apply one's self to a counsellor for advice. This is generally used intransitively; as, to apply to a counsellor.
8.
To busy; to keep at work; to ply. Obs.
[Superseded by ply, which see.]

Definition 2024

apply

apply

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /əˈplaɪ/
  • Rhymes: -aɪ

Verb

apply ‎(third-person singular simple present applies, present participle applying, simple past and past participle applied)

  1. (transitive) To lay or place; to put or adjust (one thing to another);—with to; as, to apply the hand to the breast; to apply medicaments to a diseased part of the body.
    • 1697, John Dryden, Translation of Virgil's Aeneid:
      He said, and to the sword his throat applied.
  2. (transitive) To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case; to appropriate; to devote; as, to apply money to the payment of a debt.
  3. (transitive) To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable, fitting, or relative; as, to apply the testimony to the case; to apply an epithet to a person.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Milton,
      Yet God at last To Satan, first in sin, his doom applied.
  4. (transitive) To fix closely; to engage and employ diligently, or with attention; to attach; to incline.
  5. (transitive) To betake; to address; to refer; generally used reflexively.
    • Alexander Pope
      sacred vows […] applied to grisly Pluto
    • (Can we date this quote?) Johnson
      I applied myself to him for help.
  6. (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.
  7. (intransitive) To pertain or be relevant to a specified individual or group.
    That rule only applies to foreigners.
  8. (obsolete) To busy; to keep at work; to ply.
    • Sir Philip Sidney
      She was skillful in applying his humours.
  9. (obsolete) To visit.
    • Chapman
      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.

Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

apple +‎ -y

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /æpl̩.iː/

Adjective

apply ‎(comparative more apply, superlative most apply)

  1. Alternative spelling of appley

References

  • apply in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

Etymology

From Old French applier, (French appliquer), from Latin applicō ‎(“join, fix, or attach to”); from ad + plicō ‎(“fold, twist together”). See applicant, ply.

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