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apply

verb · adjective

Simple meaning

Put into service.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhply

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

əpˈlaɪ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

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

  2. transitive

    To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case

  3. transitive

    To lay or place; to put (one thing to another)

  4. transitive

    To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable, fitting, or relevant.

  5. intransitive

    To submit oneself as a candidate (with the adposition "to" or "at" designating the recipient of the submission, and the adposition "for" designating the position).

  6. Avail oneself to

adjective

  1. Resembling apples, apple-like.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

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

Used this way, apply is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use apply

  • “To apply funds to the repayment of a debt.”verb
  • “We need to apply the skills we've learned to solve this problem.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

apply equally

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.