practice

[ prak-tis ]
See synonyms for practice on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. habitual or customary performance; operation: office practice.

  2. habit; custom: It is not the practice here for men to wear long hair.

  1. repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency: Practice makes perfect.

  2. condition arrived at by experience or exercise: She refused to play the piano, because she was out of practice.

  3. the action or process of performing or doing something: to put a scheme into practice;the shameful practices of a blackmailer.

  4. the exercise or pursuit of a profession or occupation, especially law or medicine: She plans to set up practice in her hometown.

  5. the business of a professional person: The doctor wanted his daughter to take over his practice when he retired.

  6. Law. the established method of conducting legal proceedings.

  7. Archaic. plotting; intrigue; trickery.

  8. 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.

  1. to exercise or pursue as a profession, art, or occupation: to practice law.

  2. to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency: to practice the violin.

  3. 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.

  1. to exercise oneself by repeated performance in order to acquire skill: to practice at shooting.

  2. Archaic. to plot or conspire.

Origin of practice

1
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, -ize
  • Also British, prac·tise (for defs. 11-19) .

synonym study For practice

2. See custom. 3. See exercise.

Other words for practice

Other words from practice

  • prac·tic·er, noun
  • mis·prac·tice, noun, verb, mis·prac·ticed, mis·prac·tic·ing.
  • non·prac·tice, noun
  • outpractice, 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. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for practice

practice

/ (ˈpræktɪs) /


noun
  1. a usual or customary action or proceeding: it was his practice to rise at six; he made a practice of stealing stamps

  2. repetition or exercise of an activity in order to achieve mastery and fluency

  1. the condition of having mastery of a skill or activity through repetition (esp in the phrases in practice, out of practice)

  2. the exercise of a profession: he set up practice as a lawyer

  3. the act of doing something: he put his plans into practice

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

verb
  1. the US spelling of practise

Origin of practice

1
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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.