applicant
Americannoun
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:
Screening for virtue can’t prevent that, because the applicant pool is already sorted by appetite, and the appetite grows with the budget.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The April applicant was a 79-year-old man, and STAT’s sources “said it drew the interest of top health officials, suggesting the person receiving this drug was well connected.”
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
Those are now pushing 7% — as long as the applicant has a good credit score and their other financials are up to snuff.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
Around the same time, Robinson went to inspect the location of an applicant for a dealership license in Baltimore.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
The applicant wrote his name and was then handed a newspaper in Chinese to test his reading.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Fewer than 1% of UC applicants and admitted students take only the minimum 15 courses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
It said the school leaned on how applicants answered “hardship” questions — which ask students how they overcame disadvantages — as a proxy for race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
There are also worries about AI models training themselves from videos submitted by applicants.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Citing various academic studies, it also said transparency would help prevent "unequal outcomes" when salaries are offered to successful applicants.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Consequently, the household had been flooded with applicants.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions 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.
