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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

All the above occurred during decades in which Mr. Lloyd pursued his own personal practice based in Vedanta, the ancient spiritual philosophy based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

This practice is known as the "cold chain" and is especially challenging in the poorest and most remote parts of the world or in war zones, where fridges may be scarce and electricity unreliable.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I got all the practice pants, the helmets, the thigh boards, everything,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Analysts at Bernstein think that Starlink remains a credible and long-term competitor in the lower-end broadband market, but they have a skeptical view of SpaceX’s ability to deploy wireless services in practice.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

In fact, that very evening, after a celebratory cup of tea, Major Puff took up his marching practice around the burrow while the hare looked on in quiet yet twitchy awe.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

In addition to the egg deliveries, the companies will pay $3.3 million to affected states and make changes to their practices to prevent future violations, the statement added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

NFL training camps are two weeks of hot practices.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

And the sheer scale and complexity of the Medicaid system – joint federal-state funding, varying eligibility requirements, millions of enrollees and thousands of providers – created opportunities for questionable billing practices among providers.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce sent a letter to another company the Journal investigated, seeking documents about its billing practices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

“Coach is noticing. You can’t miss more than two practices and expect that he won’t.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

I read a study years ago that fundamentally changed the way I thought about estate planning and how I practiced it as an attorney and, later, a wealth adviser.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

Wellness as practiced and performed by Kennedy is certainly curated to project manliness.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

Prosecutors allege she illegally performed abortions and practiced medicine without a license.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

But they can be intimidating for anyone who hasn’t practiced those sports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Mama smiled uncertainly, and Ophie tried the curtsy they’d practiced.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Hurwitz took some one-on-one practice time with him before the orchestra arrived, and Nasa had also been practicing his part for six weeks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

The Robinsons were college-educated, economically successful, practicing Protestants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

A practicing Catholic and father of four, Rubio is married to the daughter of Colombian immigrants.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Dr. Elizabeth Bahar Houshmand, a dermatologist practicing at Houshmand Dermatology in Dallas, said it’s not just the lipids themselves that matter, but the proportions in which they appear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

“The more you practice it, the better you’ll get at it. You’ll be able to just go there in your mind. Eyes wide open. Will you start practicing it for me?”

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

Related Words

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