Ap*ply" (&?;), v. 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", v. 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).
