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Definition of practice - 8 dictionary results
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prac⋅tice

  [prak-tis] noun, verb, -ticed, -tic⋅ing.
Use practice in a Sentence
–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.
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, esp. 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)
11. to perform or do habitually or usually: to practice a strict regimen.
12. to follow or observe habitually or customarily: to practice one's religion.
13. to exercise or pursue as a profession, art, or occupation: to practice law.
14. to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency: to practice the violin.
15. to train or drill (a person, animal, etc.) in something in order to give proficiency.
–verb (used without object)
16. to do something habitually or as a practice.
17. to pursue a profession, esp. law or medicine.
18. to exercise oneself by repeated performance in order to acquire skill: to practice at shooting.
19. Archaic. to plot or conspire.
Also, British, practise (for defs. 11–19).

Origin:
1375–1425; (v.) late ME practisen, practizen (< MF pra(c)tiser) < ML prāctizāre, alter. of prācticāre, deriv. of prāctica practical work < Gk prāktik n. use of fem. of prāktikós practic; see -ize; (n.) late ME, deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
prac⋅tic⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
2. See custom. 3. application. See exercise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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prac·tice   (prāk'tĭs)   
v.   prac·ticed, prac·tic·ing, prac·tic·es

v.   tr.

  1. To do or perform habitually or customarily; make a habit of: practices courtesy in social situations.

  2. To do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill: practice a dance step.

  3. To give lessons or repeated instructions to; drill: practiced the students in handwriting.

  4. To work at, especially as a profession: practice law.

  5. To carry out in action; observe: practices a religion piously.

  6. Obsolete To plot (something evil).

v.   intr.

  1. To do or perform something habitually or repeatedly.

  2. To do something repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill.

  3. To work at a profession.

  4. Archaic To intrigue or plot.

n.  

  1. A habitual or customary action or way of doing something: makes a practice of being punctual.

    1. Repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill: Practice will make you a good musician.

    2. A session of preparation or performance undertaken to acquire or polish a skill: goes to piano practice weekly; scheduled a soccer practice for Saturday.

    3. Archaic The skill so learned or perfected.

    4. The condition of being skilled through repeated exercise: out of practice.

    5. The act of tricking or scheming, especially with malicious intent.

    6. A trick, scheme, or intrigue.

  3. The act or process of doing something; performance or action: a theory that is difficult to put into practice.

  4. Exercise of an occupation or profession: the practice of law.

  5. The business of a professional person: an obstetrician with her own practice.

  6. A habitual or customary action or act. Often used in the plural: That company engages in questionable business practices. Facial tattooing is a standard practice among certain peoples.

  7. Law The methods of procedure used in a court of law.

  8. Archaic

    1. The act of tricking or scheming, especially with malicious intent.

    2. A trick, scheme, or intrigue.


[Middle English practisen, from Old French practiser, alteration of practiquer, from practique, practice, from Medieval Latin prāctica; see practicable.]
prac'tic·er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to do repeatedly to acquire or maintain proficiency: practice the shot put; exercising one's wits; rehearsed the play for 14 days. See Also Synonyms at habit.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

practice  (v.)
1392, "to do, act, or perform habitually," from O.Fr. practiser "to practice," from M.L. practicare "to do, perform, practice," from L.L. practicus "practical," from Gk. praktikos "practical." The noun is from 1421, originally as practise, from O.Fr. pratiser, from M.L. practicare. Also as practik, which survived in parallel into 19c. Practiced "expert" is from 1568; practicing (adj.) is recorded from 1625 in ref. to professions, from 1906 in ref. to religions.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: prac·tice
Function: noun
1 : the form and manner of conducting judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings
2 a : the continuous exercise of a profession; also : the performance of services that are considered to require an appropriate license practice of law> b : a professional business
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1prac·tice
Variant: or prac·tise /'prak-t&s/
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: prac·ticed or prac·tised; prac·tic·ing or prac·tis·ing
transitive senses
: to be professionally engaged in<practice medicine> practice intransitive senses
: to pursue a profession actively

Main Entry: 2practice
Variant: also practise
Function: noun
1 : the continuous exercise of a profession
2 : aprofessional business; especially : one constituting an incorporeal property practice and retired>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

practice prac·tice (prāk'tĭs)
v. prac·ticed, prac·tic·ing, prac·tic·es
To engage in the profession of medicine or one of the allied health professions. n.

  1. The exercise of the profession of medicine.

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

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Idioms & Phrases

practice

In addition to the idioms beginning with practice, also see in practice; make a practice of; out of practice; put into practice; sharp practice.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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