Apply \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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)