practice

[ prak-tis ]

/ ˈpræk tɪs /

noun

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.

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.

Usually practices. Archaic. intrigues; plots.

verb (used with object), prac·ticed, prac·tic·ing.

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), prac·ticed, prac·tic·ing.

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.

Nearby words

practical joke, practical nurse, practical reason, practicalism, practically, practice, practice makes perfect, practice what you preach, practice-teach, practiced, practicing

Also British, prac·tise (for defs 11–19).

Origin of practice

1375–1425; (v.) late Middle English practisen, practizen (< Middle French pra(c)tiser) < Medieval Latin prāctizāre, alteration of prācticāre, derivative of prāctica practical work < Greek prāktikḗ noun use of feminine of prāktikós practic; see -ize; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.

SYNONYMS FOR practice

3 application.

Related forms

prac·tic·er, nounmis·prac·tice, noun, verb, mis·prac·ticed, mis·prac·tic·ing.non·prac·tice, nounout·prac·tice, verb (used with object), out·prac·ticed, out·prac·tic·ing.

o·ver·prac·tice, verb (used with object), o·ver·prac·ticed, o·ver·prac·tic·ing.pre·prac·tice, verb, pre·prac·ticed, pre·prac·tic·ing.re·prac·tice, verb (used with object), re·prac·ticed, re·prac·tic·ing.

Synonym study

2. See custom. 3. See exercise.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for practicer

The worthy Doctor, however, was sometimes the object, as well as the practicer of jokes and hoaxes.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXIX., October, 1852|Various
He was a polished courtier, and a writer on, rather than a practicer of, good manners.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
We find her a practicer of the healing art; but at what age, or amid what worldly circumstances, is all unknown.
Witchcraft of New England Explained by Modern Spiritualism|Allen Putnam
He was a connoisseur of great actions, not a practicer of them.
The Art of Letters|Robert Lynd

British Dictionary definitions for practicer

practice

/ (ˈpræktɪs) /

noun

a usual or customary action or proceedingit 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 professionhe set up practice as a lawyer

the act of doing somethinghe put his plans into practice

the established method of conducting proceedings in a court of law

verb

the US spelling of practise

Word Origin for practice

C16: from Medieval Latin practicāre to practise, from Greek praktikē practical science, practical work, from prattein to do, act

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for practicer

practice

[ prăk′tĭs ]

v.

To engage in the profession of medicine or one of the allied health professions.

n.

The exercise of the profession of medicine.

The business of a practicing physician or group of physicians, including facilities and customary patients.

Idioms and Phrases with practicer

practice

In addition to the idioms beginning with practice

practice makes perfect
practice what you preach

also see:

in practice
make a practice of
out of practice
put into practice
sharp practice