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Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfectDoing something over and over makes one better at it.
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practice makes perfect
practice makes perfectFrequently doing something makes one better at doing it, as in I've knit at least a hundred sweaters, but in my case practice hasn't made perfect. This proverbial expression was once put as Use makes mastery, but by 1560 the present form had become established.
Practice makes perfect
CulturalExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Vince Lombardi established the importance of this when he observed practice doesn’t make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Call it chemistry, call it instinct, or maybe practice makes perfect.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2024
With it comes a perception that an athlete cannot be too dedicated in their pursuit of glory, that practice makes perfect.
From BBC • Dec. 15, 2021
Eventually, you may be ready for Julia’s five pages of omelet directions, including helpful line drawings … practice makes perfect.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 19, 2017
If practice makes perfect, Elizebeth was approaching perfection.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.