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practice what you preach

American  

idiom

  1. to act consistently with one's own stated beliefs, principles, or advice.


Practice what you preach Cultural  
  1. Do yourself what you advise others to do.


practice what you preach More Idioms  
  1. Behave as you would have others behave, as in You keep telling us to clean up, but I wish you'd practice what you preach. This idiom expresses an ancient idea but appeared in this precise form only in 1678. Also see do as I say.


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:

“In a perfect world, you’d practice what you preach with your own funds,” Maviglio said.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 17, 2023

It’s a bit of practice what you preach for Monken, who has pledged to give Jackson more control in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage than he had with predecessor Greg Roman.

From Washington Times Jun. 14, 2023

Here is an instance when it is wrong to practice what you preach.

From Washington Post Aug. 16, 2022

You talk that good stuff on TV, but you don’t practice what you preach.

From The New Yorker Dec. 7, 2015

Ah, that is easy enough to say, but—wait until you are where I am now, and I think you will find it lots harder to practice what you preach.

From The Lilac Lady by Ruth Alberta Brown

Figure 7.—Sprouted sweetpotato produced this attractive centerpiece for the home table There is no more applicable situation for the old adage, "Practice what you preach," than in the teaching of art.

From The Teaching of Art Related to the Home Suggestions for content and method in related art instruction in the vocational program in home economics by Federal Board for Vocational Education

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