applied

1. 1
   past formverb

   Simple past and past participle of apply.

   He applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.

   The new rules were applied across every department.

   UsageSpelled with i: applied (not incorrect: applyed). The verb keeps its patterns: applied for a job, applied to three colleges.

   Note

   The form also carries the reflexive uses of apply, as in she applied herself to her studies, meaning she worked at them diligently. As a passive participle (the paint was applied evenly) it shares its spelling with the adjective meaning 'practical', and that is the bridge between them: what has been applied is in use.

2. 2
   practicaladjective

   Concerned with putting knowledge to practical use in solving real problems, rather than studying it only in theory; used especially of a branch of science or study.

   The institute funds applied research aimed at immediate industrial needs.

   Students in the applied physics program spend most of their time building and testing real devices.

   UsageUsually before the name of a field: applied physics, applied research. Its opposite is pure or theoretical: pure math.

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