practice
noun/ˈpɹæktɪs/
Etymology
Etymology tree ▲ Middle English practice, practise, practize, practyseder. Middle English practice, practique, practyse English practice The noun is from Middle English practice, practique, practyse, from the verb; also compare Medieval Latin prāctica. The verb is from Middle English practice, practise, practize, practyse, from Middle French pratiser, practiser, alteration of practiquer, from Medieval Latin prācticāre, from Late Latin prācticus, from Ancient Greek πρακτικός (praktikós). The spelling practice is attested once in Middle English for both the noun and the verb. The noun began to be assimilated in spelling to nouns in -ice; practise (noun) is now obsolete.
10 senses
- 1Repetition of an activity to improve a skill.
- 2An organized event for the purpose of performing such repetition.
- 3The ongoing pursuit of a craft or profession…
- 4A place where a professional service is provided, such…
- 5The observance of religious duties that a church…
- 6A customary action, habit, or behaviour; a manner or routine.
- 7Actual operation or experiment, in contrast to theory.
- 8The form, manner, and order of conducting and carrying…
- 9Skilful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance…
- 10An easy and concise method of applying the rules of…
Usually Repetition of an activity to improve a skill.
- Near-synonyms: (sometimes synonymous) training, rehearsing, rehearsal, dry run, trial, workout
- He will need lots of practice with the lines before he performs them.
Usually An organized event for the purpose of performing such repetition.
- Being on a team is hard: you're always having to go to practice while everyone else is taking it easy.
- I have choir practice every Sunday after church.
Art, Arts, Medicine, Sciences Especially, Usually The ongoing pursuit of a craft or profession, particularly in medicine or the fine arts.
- Which is the most demanding? I think that my practice as an artist is 'stronger' because it is the practice that best fuels and balances myself and that generates new knowledge for my other work as both arts educator and creative arts therapist.2016, Raphael Vella, Artist-Teachers in Context: International Dialogues, Springer, →ISBN, page 53:
Usually A place where a professional service is provided, such as a general practice.
- She ran a thriving medical practice.
Usually The observance of religious duties that a church requires of its members.
Usually A customary action, habit, or behaviour; a manner or routine.
- It is the usual practice of employees there to wear neckties only when meeting with customers.
- It is good practice to check each door and window before leaving.
1 more example
- As a result, New Zealand locomotive design is a curious blend of English and American practice; certainly the American influence has always been much stronger than in Australia.1954 August, J. B. Snell, “The New Zealand Government Railways—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 558:
Usually Actual operation or experiment, in contrast to theory.
- That may work in theory, but will it work in practice?
Law Usually The form, manner, and order of conducting and carrying on suits and prosecutions through their various stages, according to the principles of law and the rules laid down by the courts.
- This firm of solicitors is involved in family law practice.
Usually Skilful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; stratagem; artifice.
- He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:
Mathematics, Sciences Usually An easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business.
- Derived terms
41 terms
best practice, business practice, code of practice, common practice, common practice period, community of practice, corrupt practice, custom and practice, fire practice, forepractice, general practice, hand practice, in practice, macropractice, malpractice, micropractice, mispractice, nonpractice, out of practice, overpractice, postpractice, praccy, practible, practice girl, practicelike, practice makes perfect, practice makes progress, practice run, practice squad, practicewear, practice what one preaches, prepractice, psychopractice, put in practice, put into practice, restrictive practice, sharp practice, standard practice, target practice, telepractice, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive- Related terms
- practic, practicable, practical, practitioner