application
Pluralapplications
- 1A formal request, written or spoken, for something such as a job, a place at a school, a loan, or a court order; also the act of making one.
She submitted her application to three universities before the deadline.
The scholarship committee reviewed hundreds of applications this year.
UsageAn application for a job or loan, to a school or body; you make, submit or fill out one.
- 2A software program that the user experiences as a single tool built to serve a particular purpose.
The company released an application for managing customer orders.
Most banking applications now require two-factor authentication.
UsageIn everyday talk usually shortened to app, especially on phones.
Note
In computing the word names a tool, also known by the fuller names application program and application software. What makes something an application is how the user meets it: a single tool for a defined purpose, as opposed to the operating system underneath. Mohsin Hamid's Exit West (2017) gives the everyday use, with a phone application that names celestial bodies.
- 3The use of something, such as a rule, theory, or method, for a particular purpose or in a particular case; a specific use something is put to.
The application of economic theory to real markets is rarely straightforward.
Engineers found a practical application for the discovery within months.
UsageUsually the application of a rule or idea to a case or field: the application of theory to real markets.
- 4The act of physically placing something onto a surface or spreading it over one.
For the best finish, the varnish needs a slow, even application, with each coat left to dry before the next.
The nurse demonstrated the correct application of the bandage.
UsageUsually takes of before the thing applied: the application of the bandage, an application of cream.
Oppositeremoval
Less common meanings
- 5A substance that is laid on or spread onto a surface.
The gardener spread a fresh application of fertilizer over the beds.
A thin application of ointment soothed the burn overnight.
Note
In a scene of a man revived from apparent death, "warm applications, internal and external" are remedies, not acts of spreading. That internal is worth noticing, because the remedies did not all go on the skin. The word once stretched to whatever was administered.
- 6Diligence; close and sustained attention given to a task.
Her application to the project never wavered, even during setbacks.
Success in this field demands both talent and constant application.
UsageOften application to a task or studies, and often paired with talent or hard work.
Similardiligence, dedication, commitment, effort, industry
- 7Willing compliance with or obedience to a request, command, or authority.
Note
A meaning lost from current English: the word once named compliance, a yielding to another's wishes or authority. In old prose it is easily mistaken for steady diligence. Obedience to someone, rather than effort at something, tells the two apart.
- 8A form of decorative needlework in which cut pieces of fabric are sewn onto a base material; appliqué.
- 9In lambda calculus, the operation of applying a function to an argument, written by placing the two side by side.
Practice
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Origin
From Late Middle English "applicacioun", borrowed from Old French "aplicacion", from Latin "applicātiō" ("attachment; application; inclination"), which comes from "applicō" ("join to, attach; apply"). It is equivalent to "apply" plus the suffix "-ication".
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- Application comes from Late Middle English applicacioun, borrowed from Old French aplicacion. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old French word derives from Latin applicātiō. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin applicātiō means attachment, application, or inclination. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin applicātiō derives from applicō. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin applicō means join to, attach, or apply. en.wiktionary.org
- Application is equivalent to apply plus -ication. en.wiktionary.org