practice

[ prak-tis ]

/ ˈpræk tɪs /

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See synonyms for: practice / practiced / practices / practicing on Thesaurus.com

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR practice

3 application.

See synonyms for practice on Thesaurus.com

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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 prāktikóspractic; see -ize; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.

synonym study for practice

2. See custom. 3. See exercise.

OTHER WORDS FROM practice

prac·tic·er, nounmis·prac·tice, noun, verb, mis·prac·ticed, mis·prac·tic·ing.non·prac·tice, nounoutpractice, 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use practice in a sentence

The team then started holding normal practices and meeting in person, but an outbreak halted all in-person activities for nearly two weeks.
Navy will host Memphis and Tulsa to make up games postponed by coronavirus issues|Kareem Copeland|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
If you want to make a list or practice sketching, the notebook has got some options for you.
This $44 reusable smart notebook connects to the cloud|Stack Commerce|November 20, 2020|Popular-Science
My father took the entire summer off from his legal practice.
On Sports Genius: Mike Greenberg Opens Up|Nick Fouriezos|November 14, 2020|Ozy
The legislation also may prevent companies from employing price discrimination practices, in which the same products are sold at different prices based on the user.
Beijing’s new antitrust rules have cost Chinese tech giants $260 billion in two days|Grady McGregor|November 11, 2020|Fortune

Roughly 1,600 health care workers at 15 hospitals were assigned to either wear a medical mask at all times during their shift, to wear a two-layer cloth mask or to follow the hospital’s standard practice, which may or may not involve wearing a mask.
Coronavirus cases are skyrocketing. Here’s what it will take to gain control|Tina Hesman Saey|November 11, 2020|Science News
The beaver is a persistent practicer of conservation and should not perish from the hills and mountains of our land.
In Beaver World|Enos Abijah Mills
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
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 polished courtier, and a writer on, rather than a practicer of, good manners.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
He was a connoisseur of great actions, not a practicer of them.
The Art of Letters|Robert Lynd

British Dictionary definitions for practice

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with practice

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

practice

OTHER WORDS FOR practice

Origin of practice

synonym study for practice

OTHER WORDS FROM practice

Words related to practice

How to use practice in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for practice

Word Origin for practice

Other Idioms and Phrases with practice