APPLY (applied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does apply mean? 

• APPLY (verb)
  The verb APPLY has 10 senses:

1. put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose

2. be pertinent or relevant or applicable

3. ask (for something)

4. apply to a surface

5. be applicable to; as to an analysis

6. give or convey physically

7. avail oneself to

8. ensure observance of laws and rules

9. refer (a word or name) to a person or thing

10. apply oneself to

  Familiarity information: APPLY used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• APPLY (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

apply; employ; use; utilise; utilize

Context example:

He doesn't know how to use a computer

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"):

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

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)

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)

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

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 2

Meaning:

Be pertinent or relevant or applicable

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

apply; go for; hold

Context example:

The same rules go for everyone

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 3

Meaning:

Ask (for something)

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

apply for a job

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:

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

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

Sense 4

Meaning:

Apply to a surface

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

apply; put on

Context example:

Put on make-up!

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"):

daub (apply to a surface)

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)

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:

Be applicable to; as to an analysis

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

apply; lend oneself

Context example:

This theory lends itself well to our new data

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)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Give or convey physically

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

apply; give

Context example:

I gave him a punch in the nose

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 7

Meaning:

Avail oneself to

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

apply; practice; use

Context example:

practice non-violent resistance

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:

Ensure observance of laws and rules

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

apply; enforce; implement

Context example:

Apply the rules to everyone

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 9

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

He applied this racial slur to me!

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 10

Meaning:

Apply oneself to

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

Please apply yourself to your homework

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)

 Context examples 

Well, we may have to apply to you again if Mrs. Barclay should prove to be in serious trouble.

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

And when, days later, he applied for the results of his examinations, he learned that he had failed in everything save grammar.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I realize that your words applied to Mr. James Wilder, and that he is not the murderer.

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

The gel is applied to the skin of affected areas.

(Baclofen/amitriptyline/ketamine gel, NCI Dictionary)

This term particularly applies to mediastinal lymphomas with overlapping features of mediastinal (thymic) large B-cell lymphoma and classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

(B-Cell Lymphoma, Unclassifiable, with Features Intermediate between Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma and Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a screen.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

A bottle which includes a device for applying its contents.

(Applicator Bottle, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-technical term applied to all tissues outside the vascular cambium in woody root, stem, or branch.

(Bark, Food and Drug Administration)

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

(Bark, Root, Food and Drug Administration)

When applied topically in the eye, this agent reduces aqueous humor secretion and lowers the intraocular pressure (IOP).

(Betaxolol, NCI Thesaurus)