practice
Americannoun
-
practices
plural
-
habitual or customary performance; operation.
office practice.
-
habit; custom.
It is not the practice here for men to wear long hair.
-
repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency.
Practice makes perfect.
- Synonyms:
- application
-
condition arrived at by experience or exercise.
She refused to play the piano, because she was out of practice.
-
the action or process of performing or doing something.
to put a scheme into practice;
the shameful practices of a blackmailer.
-
the exercise or pursuit of a profession or occupation, especially law or medicine.
She plans to set up practice in her hometown.
-
the business of a professional person.
The doctor wanted his daughter to take over his practice when he retired.
-
Law. the established method of conducting legal proceedings.
-
Archaic. plotting; intrigue; trickery.
-
Archaic. Usually practices. intrigues; plots.
verb (used with object)
-
practices,
present (3rd person singular)
-
practiced,
past participle, past
-
practicing
present participle
-
to perform or do habitually or usually.
to practice a strict regimen.
-
to follow or observe habitually or customarily.
to practice one's religion.
-
to exercise or pursue as a profession, art, or occupation.
to practice law.
-
to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency.
to practice the violin.
-
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
-
to do something habitually or as a practice.
-
to pursue a profession, especially law or medicine.
-
to exercise oneself by repeated performance in order to acquire skill.
to practice at shooting.
-
Archaic. to plot or conspire.
noun
-
a usual or customary action or proceeding
it was his practice to rise at six
he made a practice of stealing stamps
-
repetition or exercise of an activity in order to achieve mastery and fluency
-
the condition of having mastery of a skill or activity through repetition (esp in the phrases in practice, out of practice )
-
the exercise of a profession
he set up practice as a lawyer
-
the act of doing something
he put his plans into practice
-
the established method of conducting proceedings in a court of law
verb
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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
mispracticenoun
-
nonpracticenoun
-
practicernoun
-
prepracticeverb
-
outpracticeverb (used with object)
-
overpracticeverb (used with object)
-
repracticeverb (used with object)
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
practicesimple
-
practicessimple
-
have practicedperfect
-
has practicedperfect
-
am practicingprogressive
-
are practicingprogressive
-
is practicingprogressive
-
have been practicingperfect progressive
-
has been practicingperfect progressive
Past
-
practicedsimple
-
had practicedperfect
-
was practicingprogressive
-
were practicingprogressive
-
had been practicingperfect progressive
Future
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.”
Vocabulary lists containing practice
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Can I Work It? Words for "Job"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Civil Rights Movement"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
McDuffie, who has intercepted two passes, suffered a back injury against the Chargers and was not scheduled to practice on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Students were shown starter prompts tied to their specific class and assignment, offering guided help or study guides, practice quizzes and flashcards built from their course materials.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
This was reiterated in the Vatican’s 2016 instruction “Ad resurgendum cum Christo”: “The Church continues to prefer the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased, because this shows a greater esteem towards the deceased.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Emma Smale, its head of practice and policy, described the new guidance as a "welcome focus" on the issue.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Jonah remembered that Katherine hadn’t been able to help Chip out the night before, because she’d had gymnastics practice.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The insurer’s investigators relayed detailed information about the Perfect Child’s practices to the FBI team, the email said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The deal has been renewed until the end of 2028 but South Africa and Rwanda were given notice of their removal after an annual review that cited "concerning" practices.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
A free steak does not mean you have to acquiesce to bad sales practices.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
Valencia has so much depth this season that the practices are more than competitive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
“Um, thanks for taking me today,” I say to Grace as she turns in to Field of Dreams, the sports complex where we have all our practices and games.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
The five-time All-Pro practiced the week before the Sept. 11 opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, but he did not make a tackle in the 27-7 defeat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
As a child, Chin practiced violin for an hour a day—staring out the window into the woods and wishing he was there—followed by two hours of swimming and two hours of martial arts before homework.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
A graduate of Widener University Commonwealth Law School, she practiced law at her first husband’s firm and served as general counsel for a parking garage company owned by her second husband.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Williams practiced fully Thursday after missing the last three games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
He’d practiced that in the bathroom mirror, squinting his eyes to get a fierce look.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis
More than three centuries ago, 19 residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, mostly women, were tried and executed after being accused of practicing witchcraft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Often Rosalía just translates herself: “This job doesn’t have more nobility than un carpintero haciendo sillas—a carpenter doing chairs. It’s just about showing up, about practicing, about trying.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
But the 41-year-old acknowledged Thursday she had failed the bar exam, a prerequisite for practicing law in the United States.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Rams coach Sean McVay says he doesn’t anticipate Myles Garrett practicing this week after being eligible to return from injured reserve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
“Howdy, Eben. I was caught up in my practicing and didn’t hear you come in,” Mr. Smiley said.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
