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best practice

American  

noun

Chiefly Business.
  1. Often best practices a procedure or set of procedures that is preferred or considered standard within an organization, industry, etc..

    The company adopted best practice in employee recruitment.

    At the meeting we reviewed best practices for communicating with clients.

    Their methodology was identified as a best practice.


best practice British  

noun

  1. the recognized methods of correctly running businesses or providing services

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of best practice

First recorded in 1980–85; derived from an earlier (1905) sense “the best method, procedure, etc.”


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:

While the state doesn’t require board members to have term limits, nonprofit experts said they consider it best practice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Schools could then be pointed towards best practice guidance, or encouraged to join with other schools in a local behaviour and attendance hub.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

“The ethical and sort of best practice would be for the attorney general’s office to hire an independent special investigator to look into the complaint,” Gonzalez said.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

John Parker, chief executive of the Arboricultural Association, said it was "really positive" to see the council recognising the benefits trees bring to communities and the importance of "best practice in their care".

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

The best practice for transposing is to transpose a piece you know well into a new key.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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