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Apply vs Add - What's the difference?

apply | add |

In transitive terms the difference between apply and add

is that apply is to betake; to address; to refer; generally used reflexively while add is to append, as a statement; to say further.

In intransitive terms the difference between apply and add

is that apply is to pertain or be relevant to a specified individual or group while add is to make an addition. To add to, to augment; to increase.

As an adjective apply

is an alternative spelling of lang=en.

As a noun add is

an additional enemy that joined the fight after the primary target.

apply

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) applier, ((etyl) appliquer), from (etyl) . See applicant, ply.

Verb

(en-verb)
  • To lay or place; to put or adjust (one thing to another);—with to; as, to apply the hand to the breast; to apply medicaments to a diseased part of the body.
  • * {{quote-book
  • , author= , title=Translation of Virgil's Aeneid , passage=He said, and to the sword his throat applied . , year=1697}}
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • * (rfdate) Milton,
  • Yet God at last To Satan, first in sin, his doom applied .
  • To fix closely; to engage and employ diligently, or with attention; to attach; to incline.
  • * 1611 , '', ''Proverbs 23:12,
  • Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
  • To betake; to address; to refer; generally used reflexively.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • sacred vows applied to grisly Pluto
  • * (rfdate) Johnson
  • I applied myself to him for help.
  • To submit oneself as a candidate (with the adposition "to" designating the recipient of the submission, and the adposition "for" designating the position).
  • I recently applied to the tavern for a job as a bartender.
    Most of the colleges she applied to were ones she thought she had a good chance of getting into.
    Many of them don't know it, but almost a third of the inmates are eligible to apply for parole or work-release programs.
  • To pertain or be relevant to a specified individual or group.
  • That rule only applies to foreigners.
  • (obsolete) To busy; to keep at work; to ply.
  • * Sir Philip Sidney
  • She was skillful in applying his humours.
  • (obsolete) To visit.
  • * Chapman
  • His armour was so clear, / And he applied each place so fast, that like a lightning thrown / Out of the shield of Jupiter, in every eye he shone.
    (Webster 1913)

    Etymology 2

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • References

    *

    Anagrams

    *

    add

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To join or unite, as one thing to another, or as several particulars, so as to increase the number, augment the quantity or enlarge the magnitude, or so as to form into one aggregate. Hence: To sum up; to put together mentally.
  • * (rfdate) (John Locke)
  • as easily as he can add together the ideas of two days or two years.
  • To combine elements of (something) into one quantity.
  • To give by way of increased possession (to any one); to bestow (on).
  • * 1611 , King James Version, Genesis 30:24:
  • The LORD shall add to me another son.
  • * 1667 , (John Milton), (Paradise Lost):
  • Back to thy punishment, False fugitive, and to thy speed add wings.
  • To append, as a statement; to say further.
  • * 1855 , (Thomas Babington Macaulay), The History of England from the Accession of James the Second , volume 3, page 37 [http://books.google.com/books?id=w_M9AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA37&dq=added]:
  • He added that he would willingly consent to the entire abolition of the tax
  • * 1900 , , (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) Chapter 23
  • "Bless your dear heart," she said, "I am sure I can tell you of a way to get back to Kansas." Then she added , "But, if I do, you must give me the Golden Cap."
  • To make an addition. To add to, to augment; to increase.
  • * 1611 , King James Version, 1 Kings 12:14:
  • I will add to your yoke
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial.
  • (mathematics) To perform the arithmetical operation of addition.
  • Synonyms

    * annex * coalesce * join * unite * mention, note

    Antonyms

    * (quantity) subtract * (matter) remove

    Usage notes

    * We add by bringing things together so as to form a whole. * We join by putting one thing to another in close or continuous connection. * We annex by attaching some adjunct to a larger body. * We unite by bringing things together so that their parts adhere or intermingle. * Things coalesce by coming together or mingling so as to form one organization. * To add' quantities; to '''join''' houses; to '''annex''' territory; to '''unite''' kingdoms; to make parties ' coalesce

    Derived terms

    * * addition * additive * add-on * add up

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (video games) An additional enemy that joined the fight after the primary target.
  • After engaging the boss for one minute, two adds will arrive from the back and must be dealt with.
  • (computer science) An act or instance of adding.