as in to buckle (down)
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for apply (oneself)
Verb
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The pitchers on which the Padres will likely base such a determination are Michael King, who pitched just 73⅓ innings in 15 starts last season due to a nerve impingement near his throwing shoulder and knee inflammation, and Joe Musgrove, who did not pitch in ‘25 after Tommy John surgery.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026 -
What went into Shohei Ohtani’s decision to not pitch in WBC?—
Jack Vita,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Set it, forget it, and dig in come suppertime.—
Nellah Bailey McGough,
Southern Living,
16 Feb. 2026
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The researchers say that’s an important direction for future work and have made their code freely available so other scientists can dig in as well.—
Simon Makin,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Magadan had a deadly reputation in the Stalin era, as a hub for Gulag mines where political prisoners slaved sometimes to death and produced gold and other minerals in the process.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
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Po’s journey begins while slaving away at his boring noodle job on the day the Dragon Warrior is to be chosen.—
Skyler Trepel,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Nov. 2025
Verb
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After a 3-1 defeat at Fulham in September, Howe pulled Isak aside and told him to knuckle down.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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European countries need to knuckle down and increase their military capabilities while Russia is still dedicating a chunk of its forces to its invasion of Ukraine, Sweden's defense minister has said.—
Ellie Cook — reporting from Prague, Czech Republic,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When the novel opens in Florence, in 1557, the body of the painter Jacopo da Pontormo lies in the chapel of San Lorenzo—in front of the frescoes he’d labored over for a decade, with a painter’s chisel stuck in his heart.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
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Aster didn’t micromanage as Tracy labored over the script and suffered a bout of COVID during lockdown.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.—
Mike Lupica,
New York Daily News,
16 Aug. 2025
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Former staff leaked internal spats and embarrassing editorial ideas by the new leadership and pointed out that many top leaders were banging away at stories that were likely below their pay grade.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
9 June 2025
Verb
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Buehler struggled in Boston, but looked good enough during his brief time with the Phillies to generate interest from the Padres and other teams.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Fefferman questioned why board members and the public have struggled to obtain detailed financial information.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Apply (oneself).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apply%20%28oneself%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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