practice

American  

[prak-tis] / ˈpræk tɪs /

British, practise

noun

• practices
  plural

1. habitual or customary performance; operation.

   office practice.

2. habit; custom.

   It is not the practice here for men to wear long hair.

3. repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency.

   Practice makes perfect.

   Synonyms:

   application

4. condition arrived at by experience or exercise.

   She refused to play the piano, because she was out of practice.

5. the action or process of performing or doing something.

   to put a scheme into practice;

   the shameful practices of a blackmailer.

6. the exercise or pursuit of a profession or occupation, especially law or medicine.

   She plans to set up practice in her hometown.

7. the business of a professional person.

   The doctor wanted his daughter to take over his practice when he retired.

8. Law. the established method of conducting legal proceedings.

9. Archaic. plotting; intrigue; trickery.

10. Archaic. Usually practices. intrigues; plots.

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verb (used with object)

• practices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• practiced,
  past participle,  past
• practicing
  present participle

1. to perform or do habitually or usually.

   to practice a strict regimen.

2. to follow or observe habitually or customarily.

   to practice one's religion.

3. to exercise or pursue as a profession, art, or occupation.

   to practice law.

4. to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency.

   to practice the violin.

5. to train or drill (a person, animal, etc.) in something in order to give proficiency.

verb (used without object)

• practices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• practiced,
  past participle,  past
• practicing
  present participle

1. to do something habitually or as a practice.

2. to pursue a profession, especially law or medicine.

3. to exercise oneself by repeated performance in order to acquire skill.

   to practice at shooting.

4. Archaic. to plot or conspire.

practice British  

/ ˈpræktɪs /

noun

1. a usual or customary action or proceeding

   it was his practice to rise at six

   he made a practice of stealing stamps

2. repetition or exercise of an activity in order to achieve mastery and fluency

3. the condition of having mastery of a skill or activity through repetition (esp in the phrases in practice, out of practice )

4. the exercise of a profession

   he set up practice as a lawyer

5. the act of doing something

   he put his plans into practice

6. the established method of conducting proceedings in a court of law

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verb

1. the US spelling of practise

practice Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing practice

• in practice
• make a practice of
• out of practice
• put into practice
• sharp practice

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Usage

What’s the difference between practice and practise? In British English (and many other international varieties of English), the spelling practice is used when the word is a noun, while the spelling practise is used when it’s a verb. In American English, the spelling practice is always used, regardless of whether the word is used as a verb or a noun. This is somewhat similar to the difference in spelling between advice (noun) and advise (verb)—a distinction that’s used in both British and American English. However, unlike advice and advise, practice and practise are always pronounced the same. Here is an example of how practice and practise would be used in the same sentence in British English. Example: Remember, practice makes perfect—the more you practise, the better you will get. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between practice and practise.

Synonym Usage

See custom. See exercise.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mispractice
  noun
• nonpractice
  noun
• practicer
  noun
• prepractice
  verb
• outpractice
  verb (used with object)
• overpractice
  verb (used with object)
• repractice
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• practices
  plural

Participles

• practicing
  present
• practiced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• practice
  simple
• practices
  simple
• have practiced
  perfect
• has practiced
  perfect
• am practicing
  progressive
• are practicing
  progressive
• is practicing
  progressive
• have been practicing
  perfect progressive
• has been practicing
  perfect progressive

Past

• practiced
  simple
• had practiced
  perfect
• was practicing
  progressive
• were practicing
  progressive
• had been practicing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will practice
  simple
• will have practiced
  perfect
• will be practicing
  progressive
• will have been practicing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of practice

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English verb practisen, practizen, from Middle French pra(c)tiser, from Medieval Latin prāctizāre, alteration of prācticāre, derivative of prāctica “practical work,” from Greek prāktikḗ, noun use of feminine of prāktikós; noun derivative of the verb; see practic ( def. ), -ize ( def. )

Explanation

Practice can be a noun or a verb, but either way it's about how things are done on a regular basis. You can practice shotput every day because your town has a practice of supporting track-and-field events. One can practice the tuba for hours on end, repeating the same song over and over, serving to both get better at the tuba and to convince the neighbors they should move to Florida. You could learn the common practice of offering a guest a beverage when they arrive at your party, if you care to be polite. One can also practice a profession or a religion, as in “I practice Buddhism and I have a booming international law practice.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

practice practices practiced practicing

“I don’t feel like my wind’s off,” Donald said after practice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

Authorities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales all make provisions for adoptees to access their medical history, but the way this operates in practice can vary hugely in the different nations.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

While Kessler participated in practice Saturday after hitting his finger on the backboard, he was not in live drills.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

When Lizzy, Libby and Charlotte met as freshers in 2012, their main responsibility was making it to lectures on time after early morning sports practice.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Then I practice my shots from different spots on the court.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Naung Yoe, meanwhile, told the BBC that "these practices are escalating due to increasing difficulties in meeting monthly recruitment quotas and the lucrative financial profits made from recruit trading at the ground level".

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

It also demands the plan halt any illegal practices if they are ongoing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Part of this resilience can be traced to the enduring Jewish practices for mourning—practices that focus on dwelling with the loss, not trying immediately to move past it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The film shows how, according to the investigations, company practices contributed to the radicalization of some users.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Yusef had become a good friend of Navid s, and I’d been completely unaware of this until he started showing up to our breakdancing practices.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

As the longevity physician Hillary Lin described it at a women’s health event, longevity medicine is “good medicine, practiced early.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Running back Kyren Williams has practiced returning punts since training camp.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

NAIROBI—Uber’s new Kenyan safari business is stumbling as local guides push back against the idea of the ride-hailing giant muscling into a trade they have practiced for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Employers have reported concerns in precisely those areas, though those skills can also be taught and practiced.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Insult contests were an ancient Inuit tradition that was still practiced today.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Even so, ITPs remained unpopular with practicing mathematicians.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

“Anytime I’m resting in rehearsals, he’s practicing… What you see on Tuesdays, that is his best…”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The earliest scientific accounts of elephants practicing "self-medication" date back to the early third century.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Much of my life is dedicated to preaching that art, and practicing reverence for it can be the glue that keeps us together when the world wants us torn apart.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

I’d been practicing arithmetic since I’d first stepped into the school, and I never got better at it.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Related Words

• form
• habit
• method
• proceeding
• process
• rule
• system
• tradition
• use