practise

[ prak-tis ]

verb (used with or without object)

, British.

, prac·tised, prac·tis·ing.

1. practice.

practise

/ ˈpræktɪs /

verb

1. to do or cause to do repeatedly in order to gain skill
2. tr to do (something) habitually or frequently

   they practise ritual murder

3. to observe or pursue (something, such as a religion)

   to practise Christianity

4. to work at (a profession, job, etc)

   he practises medicine

5. foll byon or upon to take advantage of (someone, someone's credulity, etc)

Other Words From

• mis·practise noun verb mispractised mispractising
• pre·practise verb prepractised prepractising

Word History and Origins

Origin of practise¹

C15: see practice

Example Sentences

They are proud followers of Islam - a religion practised by roughly one in five Ghanaians.

From BBC

Nadal, ranked 154th in the world, arrived in Malaga on Thursday and has been practising with the other members of the team over the past three days.

From BBC

Items include his glasses, the piano he practised on, a painting of the star by royal portrait artist Richard Stone, annotated joke books and piles of sketch ideas.

From BBC

Trained in first aid, river crossing and high mountain rescue, they practise evacuating the village a few times a year, volunteers carrying the wounded on stretchers and bandaging mock injuries.

From BBC

"Further remediation work and strengthened practice is required and therefore there remains a real risk of harm to the public and repetition of the conduct should Ms Robinson be permitted to practise unrestricted," they added.

From BBC

Practise Vs. Practice

What’s the difference between practise and practice?

In British English (and many other international varieties of English), the spelling practise is used when the word is a verb, while the spelling practice is used when it’s a noun. 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, practise and practice are always pronounced the same.

Here is an example of how practise and practice 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 practise and practice.

Quiz yourself on practise vs. practice!

True or False?

In American English, the spelling practice is used only for nouns.