practice
Americannoun
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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
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mispracticenoun
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nonpracticenoun
-
practicernoun
-
prepracticeverb
-
outpracticeverb (used with object)
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overpracticeverb (used with object)
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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
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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:
Sobelman integrated the BioCharger into her aesthetic practice, introducing patients to what she says has a near-instant calming and regulatory effect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
At the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association, Salazar said that some marketing strategies are built around that loose terminology, a practice he wants to end.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Previous research on positive psychology often did not clearly establish how frequently people needed to practice these techniques, or for how long, to gain health benefits, Hernandez said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
"Sometimes that's deemed unfair in the practice so a total ban of prescribing testosterone can happen so that the workload is fairer," she added.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
She also had practice in the essential séance skill of listening with grave attention.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
“I saw it and was like, what is this wild thing? I want one,” said Katie Sobelman, a licensed esthetician who practices in Napa and Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Like many wellness practices that promise to make us better and more beautiful, this one is relatively niche.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
None of this is an argument that the FHA should be indifferent to a specific lender’s origination practices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Simple practices such as mindfulness, gratitude journaling, and optimism training may improve several markers of cardiovascular health within a matter of weeks.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 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
Comparable skeletal evidence also suggests that Princess Noub-Hotep and King Hor practiced archery.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
And as skilled as she was at this repartee, it never came off overly practiced.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Individually, they are stylists with distinct musical personalities, but they are exceptionally practiced in fitting in not only with each other but also with the orchestra at large.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Mr. Rogers, the Republican candidate for Senate, is squaring off against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a 41-year-old Rhodes scholar and doctor who never practiced medicine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
To see if the trick was possible, Ruth practiced rapping.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
That’s a problem because the bar association is a professional guild for practicing attorneys, whose interests aren’t identical to those of law students or the public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
But beneath all that cuteness, the girls are practicing something more consequential.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
One group has started practicing parkour in a playground.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
A lot of times they were practicing lawyers, but mainly politicians.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Except then I remember that all Deb talked about when we were practicing was Kiki.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
Definitions 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.
