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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
For the the second goal, it was a case of practice makes perfect.
From BBC • Sep. 6, 2024
Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk, who has tormented Boston and Toronto by scoring on tip-ins, thinks it’s more practice makes perfect than art.
From Washington Times • May 10, 2023
If there is a lesson here, it isn’t just that practice makes perfect; it’s that humility begets authority.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2019
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.