Ap·ply v. t. [imp. & p. p. Applied p. pr. & vb. n. Applying.]
 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.