applications

Noun

application (countable and uncountable, plural applications)

1. The act of physically applying or laying on.
   • The application of this cream should reduce the swelling.
2. The substance applied.
   • His body was stripped, laid out upon a table, and covered with a hearsecloth, when some of his attendants perceived symptoms of returning animation, and by the use of warm applications, internal and external, gradually restored him to life.1857, John Eadie, John Francis Waller, William John Macquorn Rankine, The Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography
3. The act of applying as a means; the employment of means to accomplish an end; specific use.
   • All that I have hitherto contended for, is, that whatsoever rigor is necessary, it is more to be us'd, the younger children are; and having by a due application wrought its effect, it is to be relax'd, and chang'd into a milder sort of government.1693, [John Locke], “§43”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC
4. The act of directing or referring something to a particular case, to discover or illustrate agreement or disagreement, fitness, or correspondence.
   • I make the remark, and leave you to make the application.
5. A computer program or the set of software that the end user perceives as a single entity as a tool for a well-defined purpose. (Also called: application program; application software.)
   • This application can connect to most social networks.
6. A verbal or written request for assistance or employment or admission to a school, course or similar.
   • December 31 is the deadline for MBA applications.

See all 12 meanings of application