What's the purpose of adding water to a skillet when cooking solid food? I recently came across a recipe for cinnamon skillet apples. One of the steps was to put the chopped apples into a skillet, along with half a cup of water and ground cinnamon. This reminds me of the instructions on seasoning packets, which involves stirring the contents into water, and then pouring it on top of meat in a skillet.

Is there a technical term for this cooking method? Does the water impact how the apples cook, or is it there for the sole purpose of evenly distributing the seasoning?
In this case, you are braising the apples.  The water is the braising liquid, which helps to cook the apples, reduces, integrates with the other ingredients, and becomes a sauce.  It also keeps the apples from sticking to the pan and burning.