practice

[prak-tis] /ˈpræk tɪs/
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, 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), practiced, practicing.
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), practiced, practicing.
16.
to do something habitually or as a practice.
17.
to pursue a profession, especially 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 Middle English practisen, practizen (< Middle French pra(c)tiser) < Medieval Latin prāctizāre, alteration of prācticāre, derivative of prāctica practical work < Greek prāktikḗ noun use of feminine of prāktikós practic; see -ize; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.
Related forms
practicer, noun
mispractice, noun, verb, mispracticed, mispracticing.
nonpractice, noun
outpractice, verb (used with object), outpracticed, outpracticing.
overpractice, verb (used with object), overpracticed, overpracticing.
prepractice, verb, prepracticed, prepracticing.
repractice, verb (used with object), repracticed, repracticing.
Synonyms
2. See custom. 3. application. See exercise.
Examples from the web for practice
  • It was common practice to carry rose petals to ward off the odors believed to cause the plague.
  • The usual practice appears to have been to have one entrance door only to the body of the house.
  • We encourage applications from persons who have an outstanding academic background and relevant practice experience.
  • During the first two or three years in practice, your skills seem to improve almost daily.
  • Another way is to teach the practice and interweave the theory with it.
  • But it takes some conscious practice.
  • Famous people dabbling in this lucrative genre is a centuries-old practice.
  • The group chooses recipes that can be either made ahead or pulled together quickly after work or soccer practice.
  • It is best that you practice this movement, so you can defend yourself better.
  • For theologians and laypersons who lament the demise of religious practice, this book proposes a postmodern overhaul for belief.
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
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
7.
the US spelling of practise
Word Origin
C16: from Medieval Latin practicāre to practise, from Greek praktikē practical science, practical work, from prattein to do, act

practise

/ˈpræktɪs/
verb
1.
to do or cause to do repeatedly in order to gain skill
2.
(transitive) 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 by on or upon. to take advantage of (someone, someone's credulity, etc)
Word Origin
C15: see practice
Word Origin and History for practice
v.

c.1400, "to do, act;" early 15c., "to follow or employ; to carry on a profession," especially medicine, from Old French pratiser, practiser "to practice," alteration of practiquer, from Medieval Latin practicare "to do, perform, practice," from Late Latin practicus "practical," from Greek praktikos "practical" (see practical).

From early 15c. as "to perform repeatedly to acquire skill, to learn by repeated performance;" mid-15c. as "to perform, to work at, exercise." Related: Practiced; practicing.

n.

early 15c., practise, "practical application," originally especially of medicine but also alchemy, education, etc.; from Old French pratiser, from Medieval Latin practicare (see practice (v.)). From early 15c. often assimilated in spelling to nouns in -ice. Also as practic, which survived in parallel into 19c.

practice in Medicine

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.

Slang definitions & phrases for practice

practice

Related Terms

skull practice


Idioms and Phrases with practice

practice

also see: