Applies

How to spell applies

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce applies

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does applies mean?

1. verbIs relevant to or has an effect on a particular person or situation.
2. verbMakes a formal written or spoken request, typically for a job, place, or permit.
3. verbPuts or spreads a substance onto a surface, or exerts something such as pressure.

Applies in a sentence

• The new parking rule applies to every member of staff.

• She applies for a new passport every ten years.

• The nurse applies a fresh dressing to the wound each morning.

• The discount only applies when you spend over fifty pounds.

• Whoever applies first usually gets the interview slot.

• He applies a thin coat of varnish to the wooden table.

Where does applies come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the third-person singular present form of the verb 'apply', which English took from the Old French aplier in the 1300s. That French verb descended from the Latin applicare, built from ad- meaning 'to' or 'toward' and plicare meaning 'to fold' or 'to bend'. The literal sense was to fold or attach one thing onto another, which still echoes in modern uses like applying paint to a wall or applying pressure to a wound. From the idea of attaching oneself to a task came the figurative meanings of devoting effort to something and of putting in a formal request. The same plicare root quietly survives in a crowd of relatives such as 'pliable', 'complicate', and 'reply', and the spelling trap in 'applies' is simply the routine swap of the final y for an i before the -es ending.

How the word is built

• ap- (to, from Latin ad-)
• ply (fold, from Latin plicare)
• -ies (third-person singular, with y changed to i before -es)