Apply Meaning
/əˈplaɪ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo lay or place; to put (one thing to another)
verbTo put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case
Sentence Examples
You should apply for the scholarship.
Apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
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CEFR Practice Quiz
She decided to ____ for the scholarship to study abroad.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *pel- Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-der. Latin plicō Latin applicō Old French applierbor. Middle English aplien English apply Inherited from Middle English aplien, borrowed from Old French applier, from Latin applicō, from ad- + plicō (“fold; arrive”). See applicant, ply.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He said, and to the sword his throat applied."
— 1697, John Dryden, Translation of Virgil's Aeneid:
"Yet God at last To Satan, first in sin, his doom applied."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 23:12:
"sacred vows […] applied to grisly Pluto"
— 1725, Homer, “Book X”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
"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, →OCLC:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
She decided to ____ for the scholarship to study abroad.