Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Apply"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

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}.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

2. To make request; to have recourse with a view to gain
something; to make application. (to); to solicit; as, to
apply to a friend for information.

3. To ply; to move. [R.]

I heard the sound of an oar applying swiftly through
the water. --T. Moore.

4. To apply or address one's self; to give application; to
attend closely (to).

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup