Definition of "apply"

apply¹

/əˈplaɪ/

verb
third-person singular simple present applies, present participle applying, simple past and past participle applied
1. (transitive) To lay or place; to put (one thing to another)
  Quotations
  He said, and to the sword his throat applied.
  1697, John Dryden, Translation of Virgil's Aeneid
2. (transitive) To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case
3. (transitive) To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable, fitting, or relative
  Quotations
  Yet God at last To Satan, first in sin, his doom applied.
  1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
4. (transitive) To put closely; to join; to engage and employ diligently, or with attention
  Quotations
  Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Proverbs 23:12
5. (reflexive) To work diligently and attentively.
6. (transitive) To address; to refer; generally used reflexively.
  Quotations
  sacred vows […] applied to grisly Pluto
  1725, Homer, “Book X”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot
  On applying to the assessors, I am surprised to learn that they cannot at once name a dozen in the town who own their farms free and clear.
  1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Economy”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields
7. (intransitive) To submit oneself as a candidate (with the adposition "to" designating the recipient of the submission, and the adposition "for" designating the position).
  Quotations
  Southern Pacific Communications Co. (SP) has applied to the FCC for approval of the first coast-to-coast digital data transmission service.
  1974 August 7, Ronald A. Frank, “SP Seeks Approval for Coast-to-Coast Digital Net”, in Computerworld, page 15
8. (intransitive) To pertain or be relevant to a specified individual or group.
9. (obsolete) To busy; to keep at work; to ply.
  Quotations
  She was no less skillful in applying his humours.
  a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the page number)”, in Fulke Greville, Matthew Gwinne, and John Florio, editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590; republished in Albert Feuillerat, editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia (Cambridge English Classics: The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney; I), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1912,
10. (obsolete) To visit.
  Quotations
  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.The spelling has been modernized.
  , Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter; The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], new edition, volumes (please specify the book number), London: Charles Knight and Co., […], 1843,

apply²

/ˈæp(ə)li/

adjective
comparative more apply, superlative most apply
1. Alternative spelling of appley

Definition of "apply"

apply1

verb

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apply2

adjective

apply¹

apply²