application
noun
Application — the act of putting an idea, force, or method to actual use
Definition
The action of putting something into operation; "the application of maximum thrust"; "massage has far-reaching medical applications"; "the application of indexes to tables of data"
In depth
An application is the act of putting something into operation, bringing a principle, force, or method out of theory and into concrete effect. The word also names, distinctly, a formal request — for a job, a school, a license — and, in the digital age, a piece of software designed to perform a specific function, three meanings that share a common root in the idea of directed, purposeful use.
Origin
The word descends from Latin applicare, to attach or apply, formed from ad- (to) and plicare (to fold). That image of folding one thing toward another remains buried in the word's logic: an application, in every sense, is an act of bringing something into close, deliberate contact with a particular purpose or use.
Usage examples
"The engine's design relied on the careful application of pressure across a single critical joint."
"She mailed the application weeks before the deadline, certain it would still arrive too late to matter."
"He had built, almost by accident, an application now used by millions who had never heard his name."
How to use it
Application is essential across technical, academic, professional, and everyday registers, and writers should rely on context to clarify which of its several distinct senses — operational use, formal request, or software — is intended, since the word rarely signals this on its own.
Related concepts
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