Library / English Dictionary

APPLY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: applied   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Ask (for something)

Example:

apply for a job

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "apply" is one way to...):

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "apply"):

put in; submit (make an application as for a job or funding)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s to somebody

Sentence example:

They apply to move

Derivation:

applicant (a person who requests or seeks something such as assistance or employment or admission)

application (a verbal or written request for assistance or employment or admission to a school)

applier (a person who requests or seeks something such as assistance or employment or admission)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Refer (a word or name) to a person or thing

Example:

He applied this racial slur to me!

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "apply" is one way to...):

denote; refer (have as a meaning)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

application (the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose

Example:

He doesn't know how to use a computer

Synonyms:

apply; employ; use; utilise; utilize

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Cause:

apply; go for; hold (be pertinent or relevant or applicable)

Verb group:

apply; practice; use (avail oneself to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "apply"):

fall back; recur; resort (have recourse to)

implement (apply in a manner consistent with its purpose or design)

put to work; work (cause to work)

share (use jointly or in common)

take (travel or go by means of a certain kind of transportation, or a certain route)

enjoy (have benefit from)

exercise; exert (put to use)

extend; strain (use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity)

exploit; tap (draw from; make good use of)

exploit; work (use or manipulate to one's advantage)

recycle; reprocess; reuse (use again after processing)

cannibalise; cannibalize (use parts of something to repair something else)

overdrive; overuse (make use of too often or too extensively)

avail (use to one's advantage)

misapply; misuse (apply to a wrong thing or person; apply badly or incorrectly)

waste (use inefficiently or inappropriately)

address (address or apply oneself to something, direct one's efforts towards something, such as a question)

ply (use diligently)

assign; put (attribute or give)

pull out all the stops (use all resources available)

play (use or move)

play (employ in a game or in a specific position)

commit; consecrate; dedicate; devote; give (give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s something PP
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Derivation:

application (the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose)

applicative; applicatory (readily applicable or practical)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Apply to a surface

Example:

Put on make-up!

Synonyms:

apply; put on

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "apply" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "apply"):

clap on; slam on; slap on (apply carelessly)

sponge on (apply with a sponge)

putty (apply putty in order to fix or fill)

cold-cream (put cold cream on one's face)

cream (put on cream, as on one's face or body)

dress (put a dressing on)

gum (cover, fill, fix or smear with or as if with gum)

daub (apply to a surface)

dab; swab; swob (apply (usually a liquid) to a surface)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

application (the work of applying something)

application (liquid preparation having a soothing or antiseptic or medicinal action when applied to the skin)

applier (a device for applying a substance)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Give or convey physically

Example:

I gave him a punch in the nose

Synonyms:

apply; give

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "apply" is one way to...):

administer; allot; deal; deal out; dish out; dispense; distribute; dole out; lot; mete out; parcel out; shell out (administer or bestow, as in small portions)

Verb group:

give (give (as medicine))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "apply"):

tread (apply (the tread) to a tire)

administer (perform (a church sacrament) ritually)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sense 6

Meaning:

Ensure observance of laws and rules

Example:

Apply the rules to everyone

Synonyms:

apply; enforce; implement

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "apply" is one way to...):

compel; obligate; oblige (force somebody to do something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "apply"):

execute; run (carry out a process or program, as on a computer or a machine)

execute (carry out the legalities of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

applicative (readily applicable or practical)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Avail oneself to

Example:

practice non-violent resistance

Synonyms:

apply; practice; use

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Verb group:

apply; employ; use; utilise; utilize (put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "apply"):

follow (adhere to or practice)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

applicable (capable of being applied; having relevance)

application (the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Apply oneself to

Example:

Please apply yourself to your homework

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "apply" is one way to...):

commit; consecrate; dedicate; devote; give (give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

application (a diligent effort)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Be pertinent or relevant or applicable

Example:

The same rules go for everyone

Synonyms:

apply; go for; hold

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "apply" is one way to...):

bear on; come to; concern; have to do with; pertain; refer; relate; touch; touch on (be relevant to)

Verb group:

apply; lend oneself (be applicable to; as to an analysis)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

applicable (capable of being applied; having relevance)

applicative (readily applicable or practical)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Be applicable to; as to an analysis

Example:

This theory lends itself well to our new data

Synonyms:

apply; lend oneself

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Verb group:

apply; go for; hold (be pertinent or relevant or applicable)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

applicable (capable of being applied; having relevance)

application (the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose)

applicative; applicatory (readily applicable or practical)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The term is now applied in a general way to many other related plants such as soybeans, peas, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas (garbanzos), vetches and lupins.

(Bean, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-technical term applied to all tissues outside the vascular cambium in a woody stem.

(Bark, Stem, Food and Drug Administration)

I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to see a sister of mine apply for.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I ravaged Miss Mills's work-box for a smelling-bottle, and in my agony of mind applied an ivory needle-case instead, and dropped all the needles over Dora.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A branch of applied ethics which studies the value implications of practices and developments in the life sciences.

(Biomedical Ethics, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

When we stopped the operation, he attended to Lucy, whilst I applied digital pressure to my own incision.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The interface periodically applies a gentle electrical current to the gel that drives the sweat-stimulating molecules to the skin’s sweat glands.

(Diagnosing cystic fibrosis with wearable devices, NIH)

The patient receives psoralen (a drug that becomes active when it is exposed to light) by mouth or applied to the skin, followed by ultraviolet A radiation.

(Methoxsalen With Ultraviolet A Therapy, NCI Dictionary)

Medicine applied to diseases that predispose to cancer.

(Medicine, Precancer, NCI Thesaurus)

When applied topically in the eye, it lowers intraocular pressure by reducing aqueous humor secretion.

(Betaxolol Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)