apply
request formally
If you apply to have something or apply for something, you write asking formally to be allowed to have it or do it.
I've applied for another job.
Sally and Jack applied to adopt another child.
another meaning of ‘apply’
Apply has another meaning. If you apply something to a surface, you put it onto the surface or rub it into it. This is a formal use of apply, which often occurs in written instructions.
Apply the cream evenly.
She applied a little make-up.
In conversation and in most kinds of writing, don't say that you apply something. You say that you put it on, rub it on, rub it in, or spread it on.
She put some cream on to soothe her sunburn.
Rub in some oil to darken it.