Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

practice

Pronunciation: /ˈpraktɪs/

Translate practice | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of practice

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it:the principles and practice of teaching the recommendations proved too expensive to put into practice
  • the carrying out or exercise of a profession, especially that of a doctor or lawyer:he abandoned medical practice for the Church
  • [count noun] the business or premises of a doctor or lawyer:Dr Apps has a practice in Neasham Road
  • 2the customary, habitual, or expected procedure or way of doing of something:product placement is common practice in American movies [count noun]:modern child-rearing practices
  • an established method of legal procedure.
  • 3repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it:it must have taken a lot of practice to become so fluent
  • [count noun] a period of time spent practising an activity or skill:daily choir practices

verb

Phrases

in practice

  • 1in reality (used to refer to what actually happens as opposed to what is meant or believed to happen):in theory this method is ideal—in practice it is unrealistic
  • 2currently proficient in a particular activity or skill as a result of repeated exercise or performance of it.

out of practice

not currently proficient in a particular activity or skill through not having exercised or performed it for some time:he was out of practice at interrogation

practice makes perfect

regular exercise of an activity or skill is the way to become proficient in it.

Origin:

late Middle English: from practise, on the pattern of pairs such as advise, advice

Care should be taken with the use of the words practice and practise as there are differences in British and US usage. Practice is the correct spelling for the noun in both British and US English and it is also the spelling of the verb in US English. However, in British English the verb should be spelled practise.

practice in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of practice in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

Word of the day

synodic

/ sɪˈnɒdɪk /
adjective
relating to or involving the conjunction of celestial objects …