application

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of applying.
• noun Something applied, such as a cosmetic or curative agent.
• noun The act of putting something to a special use or purpose.
• noun A specific use to which something is put.
• noun The capacity of being usable; relevance.
• noun Close attention; diligence.
• noun A request, as for assistance, employment, or admission to a school.
• noun The form or document on which such a request is made.
• noun Computers A computer program designed for a specific task or use.
• adjective Of or being a computer program designed for a specific task or use.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of applying or putting to; the act of laying on: as, the application of emollients to a diseased limb.
• noun The thing or remedy applied: as, the pain was abated by the application.
• noun The act of making request or of soliciting; the request so made: as, he made application to the Court of Chancery.
• noun The act of putting to a special use or purpose; adaptation to a specific end.
• noun The act of fixing the mind on something; close attention; devotion, as to a pursuit; assiduous effort.
• noun The act of applying a general principle, law, or theory to a particular case; the demonstration of the relation of a general principle to an actual state of things; the testing of something theoretical by applying it in practice.
• noun In law, appropriation; the act of allotting among several debts a payment inadequate to satisfy all. See appropriation, 4 .
• noun In astrology, the approach of a planet to any aspect.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of applying or laying on, in a literal sense.
• noun The thing applied.
• noun The act of applying as a means; the employment of means to accomplish an end; specific use.
• noun The act of directing or referring something to a particular case, to discover or illustrate agreement or disagreement, fitness, or correspondence
• noun That part of a sermon or discourse in which the principles before laid down and illustrated are applied to practical uses; the “moral” of a fable.
• noun The use of the principles of one science for the purpose of enlarging or perfecting another.
• noun The capacity of being practically applied or used; relevancy.
• noun The act of fixing the mind or closely applying one's self; assiduous effort; close attention.
• noun The act of making request of soliciting
• noun A request; a document containing a request.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The act of applying or laying on, in a literal sense; as, the application of emollients to a diseased limb.
• noun The thing applied.
• noun The act of applying as a means; the employment of means to accomplish an end; specific use.
• noun The act of directing or referring something to a particular case, to discover or illustrate agreement or disagreement, fitness, or correspondence.
• noun computing 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.)
• noun A verbal or written request for assistance or employment or admission to a school.
• noun bureaucracy, law A petition, entreaty, or other request.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the work of applying something
• noun the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose
• noun the action of putting something into operation
• noun a program that gives a computer instructions that provide the user with tools to accomplish a task
• noun a verbal or written request for assistance or employment or admission to a school
• noun a diligent effort
• noun liquid preparation having a soothing or antiseptic or medicinal action when applied to the skin