practice

[ prak-tis ]

noun

1. habitual or customary performance; operation:

   office practice.

2. habit; custom:

   It is not the practice here for men to wear long hair.

3. repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency:

   Practice makes perfect.

   Synonyms: application

4. condition arrived at by experience or exercise:

   She refused to play the piano, because she was out of practice.

5. the action or process of performing or doing something:

   to put a scheme into practice;

   the shameful practices of a blackmailer.

6. the exercise or pursuit of a profession or occupation, especially law or medicine:

   She plans to set up practice in her hometown.

7. the business of a professional person:

   The doctor wanted his daughter to take over his practice when he retired.

8. Law. the established method of conducting legal proceedings.
9. Archaic. plotting; intrigue; trickery.
10. Usually practices. Archaic. intrigues; plots.

verb (used with object)

, prac·ticed, prac·tic·ing.

1. to perform or do habitually or usually:

   to practice a strict regimen.

2. to follow or observe habitually or customarily:

   to practice one's religion.

3. to exercise or pursue as a profession, art, or occupation:

   to practice law.

4. to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency:

   to practice the violin.

5. to train or drill (a person, animal, etc.) in something in order to give proficiency.

verb (used without object)

, prac·ticed, prac·tic·ing.

1. to do something habitually or as a practice.
2. to pursue a profession, especially law or medicine.
3. to exercise oneself by repeated performance in order to acquire skill:

   to practice at shooting.

4. Archaic. to plot or conspire.

practice

/ ˈpræktɪs /

noun

1. a usual or customary action or proceeding

   he made a practice of stealing stamps

   it was his practice to rise at six

2. repetition or exercise of an activity in order to achieve mastery and fluency
3. the condition of having mastery of a skill or activity through repetition (esp in the phrases in practice, out of practice )
4. the exercise of a profession

   he set up practice as a lawyer

5. the act of doing something

   he put his plans into practice

6. the established method of conducting proceedings in a court of law

verb

1. the US spelling of practise

Other Words From

• practic·er noun
• mis·practice noun verb mispracticed mispracticing
• non·practice noun
• outpractice verb (used with object) outpracticed outpracticing
• over·practice verb (used with object) overpracticed overpracticing
• pre·practice verb prepracticed prepracticing
• re·practice verb (used with object) repracticed repracticing

Word History and Origins

Origin of practice¹

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; practic ( def ), -ize ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of practice¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Synonym Study

See custom. See exercise.

Example Sentences

He was asked if Lemon threw it that well in practice.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet in practice, Black veterans were excluded from the housing loan benefits that white veterans used to build generational wealth.

From Salon

Her chutzpah coupled with her father's broad-mindedness helped her escape the practice for the rest of her life.

From BBC

The suit claims that the district’s policies and practices “unfairly restrict” the girls’ “freedom of expression and deny them fair and equal access to athletic opportunities.”

From Los Angeles Times

Close challenged her team during practice all week, demanding high-pressure defense to help prepare for the physicality of Sunday’s game.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apply
• do
• engage in
• execute
• follow
• observe
• perform
• pursue
• work at

Practice Vs. Practise

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.

Quiz yourself on practice vs. practise!

True or False?

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