applicant
Americannoun
-
applicants
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of applicant
First recorded in 1475–85, applicant is from the Latin word applicant- (stem of applicāns applying, present participle of applicāre ). See apply, -ant
Explanation
An applicant is someone who signs up or applies for something. A job applicant for example, often fills out a form and then interviews for the position she hopes to get. When you submit your college application to a school you'd like to attend, you are an applicant to that school. Other kinds of applicants are job candidates and scholarship hopefuls. To apply is to put in for or request entry to something, and the root of both apply and applicant is the Old French aploiier, "apply, use, or attach," from the Latin applicare, "attach to, join, or connect."
Vocabulary lists containing applicant
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Some assessments had remarkably tight deadlines, which Weis believed was an effort to thin the applicant pool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
She says employers, if they do want to know, should ask each applicant the same questions to ensure they are treated fairly.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
It also would broaden public insight into how lease agreements with the port affect the local workforce by requiring any leaseholder extending a lease or lease applicant to disclose overview on its employment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Having lived in Japan for a decade, permanent residency applicant Chono said he saw both sides of the debate but that the country needed young people "to support its future".
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Mr. Gonzalez prayed almost audibly that this behemoth was an applicant for a job.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Sticker shock remains the one of the biggest deterrents for prospective liberal arts applicants, said Weingarten, at One-Stop College Counseling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
He called Caltech — which enrolls fewer than 2,400 students and admitted under 4% of applicants this year, about as selective as Harvard — “really small but truly mighty.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Employers in the UK are currently allowed to ask you how much you get paid in your current role, but applicants are under no obligation to tell them.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
In January 2025, CBP One had 270,000 open cases, including 30,000 for applicants seeking a legal pathway from Mexico into the US.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
These applicants will still be required to submit conviction-history information at the beginning of the hiring process.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
