Which of the following words will come first in the dictionary?

Correct — B.
Rule: compare letter by letter from the left, and the first difference decides.

All four start ap. Third letters: apron r, apple p, aptitude t, apply p. The p-words, apple and apply, come first.

Apple and apply share appl. Fifth letters: e before y, so apple comes first → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  apron — apron has r as its third letter. The p in apple and apply comes before r, so apron comes third in the order.
• (c)
  aptitude — aptitude has t as its third letter, the latest of the four, so it comes last: apple, apply, apron, aptitude.
• (d)
  apply — apply matches apple through appl. Its fifth letter, y, comes after apple's e, so apply is second.

Dictionary order compares words one letter at a time from the left. The first position where two words differ decides their order, and the letters after it are ignored.

Here the first two letters tie, so the third splits the words: p before r before t. Apple and apply then tie up to the fourth letter, and the fifth, e before y, settles it.

Key facts

• Dictionary order: apple, apply, apron, aptitude.
• The first differing letter decides the order.
• A word that is the start of a longer word comes first, so app comes before apple.

Common traps

• Stopping at the third letter and guessing between apple and apply

No directly related past PYQ was found.