practice
practice — noun
1. repeating an activity many times so that you slowly become better at it; also a
repeating an activity many times so that you slowly become better at it; also a session set aside for this kind of repeated work, such as a piano lesson or team training.
Sofia needs more practice before her piano exam in June.
uncountable: more practice
Football practice starts at four and ends at six on weekdays.
compound: football practice
With daily practice, Marcus's Chinese has improved a lot this year.
collocation: daily practice
The coach was angry because three players missed yesterday's practice.
countable: a / yesterday's practice
Grandpa Wei hasn't played tennis for years, so he is a bit out of practice.
fixed phrase: out of practice
- piano practice
- football practice
- daily practice
- a lot of practice
- out of practice
Grammar Patterns
practice for + activity
go to practice
Usage Note
Use uncountable when talking about the activity in general ('more practice'), countable when talking about a specific session ('today's practice'). Distinguish from sense 3: that sense names the workplace of a doctor or lawyer, not training.
Common Mistakes
2. a way of behaving or doing something that a group of people follows again and ag
a way of behaving or doing something that a group of people follows again and again, treating it as normal or expected.
Tipping the waiter twenty percent is common practice in New York restaurants.
collocation: common practice
The Watanabe family follows the old practice of cleaning the house before the new year.
the practice of + -ing
Many farmers want to end the practice of burning fields after harvest.
It is standard practice at St. Mary's Hospital for nurses to check a patient's name twice.
collocation: standard practice
- common practice
- standard practice
- best practice
- the practice of
- custom
often tied to culture or tradition
- habit
typically about one person, not a group
- convention
more formal; an unwritten social rule
Grammar Patterns
common practice
the practice of doing something
Usage Note
Often modified by 'common', 'standard', 'normal', 'best', or 'unfair'. Distinguish from sense 1 (training): this sense is about a custom or rule of behaviour, not about repeated drills to improve a skill.
Common Mistakes
3. the work or office of a doctor, dentist, or lawyer, including the customers or p
the work or office of a doctor, dentist, or lawyer, including the customers or patients they regularly serve.
Dr. Tanaka set up a small dental practice on the corner of Park Street.
collocation: dental / medical / legal practice
After thirty years, the lawyer sold her practice to a younger partner.
The family doctor's practice is closed every Sunday and on public holidays.
Lina joined a busy medical practice with six other doctors last month.
- medical practice
- dental practice
- legal practice
- private practice
- set up a practice
- join a practice
Grammar Patterns
a [field] practice
set up / run a practice
Usage Note
Subject collocates are usually 'medical', 'dental', 'legal', 'group', 'private', or 'family'. Distinguish from sense 1 (training): you 'go to practice' for sport, but you 'go to a practice' (meaning a clinic) for a check-up.
Common Mistakes
4. the activity of applying an idea, theory, skill, or method in real life through
the activity of applying an idea, theory, skill, or method in real life through hands-on action, rather than only studying or talking about it.
Maya wanted to put her management theories into practice at her new restaurant.
collocation: put [something] into practice
Sofia's nursing course mixes ten hours of lectures with twenty hours of practice in the hospital ward.
Marcus is good at writing safety rules, but weaker on the practice side.
Aunt Rosa wrote a careful budget on Sunday, but the practice in her noisy kitchen looked very different.
contrast: written plan vs. real action
- put into practice
- in theory and in practice
- the practice of
- application
more formal; emphasizes using a method or rule
- implementation
formal; the act of putting a plan into effect
- theory
the ideas behind an activity, not the activity itself
Grammar Patterns
in practice
put something into practice
Usage Note
Often paired with the verb 'put' in the fixed pattern 'put X into practice'. Distinguish from sense 5 ('in practice'), which is an adverbial phrase about reality, not about applying ideas.
Common Mistakes
5. what really takes place in a situation, especially when it differs from what peo
what really takes place in a situation, especially when it differs from what people expected, planned, or said would happen.
On paper the new school fee rule sounds fair, but in practice it punishes poorer families.
fixed phrase: in practice (contrastive)
The new shortcut through Maple Street should save time, though in practice the morning bus is often late.
In theory every child gets a free meal; in practice, many schools run out of food.
in theory ... in practice contrast
BrightShop promises quick refunds, but in practice customers in Taipei wait for weeks.
- in practice
- in theory ... in practice
- work well in practice
- in reality
very close in meaning; slightly more general
- actually
adverb; used for the same contrast in less formal speech
Grammar Patterns
in practice
Usage Note
Almost always appears in the fixed phrase 'in practice', usually as a contrast with 'in theory', 'on paper', or a stated promise. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense describes a real outcome, not the act of applying something.
Common Mistakes
6. the action of doing something on a regular basis, often used in the phrase 'make
the action of doing something on a regular basis, often used in the phrase 'make a practice of' to talk about a personal rule or routine.
Lina makes a practice of calling her grandmother every Sunday morning.
fixed pattern: make a practice of + -ing
Greenhill Primary does not make a practice of letting students leave early on Fridays.
Carlos has made a practice of saving ten percent of every paycheck.
The judge made a practice of arriving at the courtroom thirty minutes early.
- make a practice of
- make it a practice
Grammar Patterns
make a practice of doing something
Usage Note
Almost always inside the fixed pattern 'make a practice of + -ing'. Distinguish from sense 2: that sense names a group custom, while this one names a personal or institutional routine someone has chosen to follow.
Common Mistakes
To be less skilled at something because you have not done it for a while.
Mina was out of practice and missed three easy goals.
If you don't play the piano often, you will get out of practice.
in practice
idiomWhat actually happens, as opposed to what is supposed to happen.
The rule looks good on paper, but in practice it fails.
In practice, the new system saved the company a lot of money.
A saying that doing something many times helps you become very good at it.
Keep trying to improve your writing; practice makes perfect.
My piano teacher always says that practice makes perfect.
practice — verb
1. to do an action or activity many times, by yourself or with a teacher, so that y
to do an action or activity many times, by yourself or with a teacher, so that you slowly become better at it.
Sofia practices the violin for an hour before school every morning.
practice + noun (instrument)
The team practices passing and shooting on the field every Tuesday.
practice + -ing
Carlos wants to speak Spanish well, so he practices with his Mexican neighbour every Friday evening.
intransitive: practice with [partner]
Marcus practiced his speech in front of the bathroom mirror three times.
The young actors practiced for the school play every afternoon last week.
practice for + event
- practice the piano
- practice English
- practice every day
- practice hard
Grammar Patterns
practice + noun
practice + -ing
practice for + event
Usage Note
In American English, both the noun and the verb are spelled 'practice'. In British English, the verb is 'practise' and the noun is 'practice'. Object can be a skill (the piano), an action (passing), or absent ('the team practices on Tuesdays').
Common Mistakes
2. to work as a doctor, lawyer, or in another job that needs years of training and
to work as a doctor, lawyer, or in another job that needs years of training and an official licence.
Dr. Tanaka has practiced medicine in this town for over thirty years.
practice + medicine / law / dentistry
Lina passed the bar exam last summer and now practices law in Boston.
Carlos was not allowed to practice as a dentist after losing his licence.
practice as + noun
After medical school, Maya chose to practice in a busy Chicago clinic rather than her quiet hometown.
intransitive use
- practice law
- practice medicine
- practice dentistry
- practice as a [doctor]
- retire from
to stop practicing a profession
Grammar Patterns
practice + profession (law, medicine)
practice as + noun
Usage Note
Object is almost always 'law', 'medicine', 'dentistry', or another regulated profession. Subject is usually a person with formal qualifications. Often paired with 'as a doctor / lawyer / dentist' when the profession is not the object.
Common Mistakes
3. to live by a religion, belief, or set of values by acting on it again and again
to live by a religion, belief, or set of values by acting on it again and again in daily life.
Maya's grandparents practice Buddhism and visit the temple every weekend.
practice + religion
Marcus practices kindness by carrying his neighbour's groceries up the stairs every Saturday.
practice + abstract noun (value)
Many people in this village still practice the old farming methods of their grandparents.
Mr. Lee practices honesty by telling his students when he gets a quiz answer wrong.
- practice a religion
- practice honesty
- practice patience
- practice what you preach
- abandon
to stop following a religion or tradition
Grammar Patterns
practice + religion / belief
practice + value
Usage Note
Object is usually a religion (Buddhism, Islam), a value (honesty, patience), or a tradition (old methods). Distinguish from sense 1 (training): here you are not getting better at something — you are simply living by it as a rule.
Common Mistakes
in practice
idiomwhen something is actually done or experienced, especially in contrast to how it was planned or described.
The new law sounds simple, but in practice it confuses both shopkeepers and customers.
In theory the bus runs every ten minutes; in practice you often wait half an hour.
out of practice
idiomno longer good at something because you have not done it for a long time.
Marcus used to play the guitar well, but he is very out of practice now.
Lina apologized for her slow typing, saying she was out of practice after maternity leave.
a saying that means if you do something many times, you will eventually become very good at it.
Sofia kept missing her notes, but her teacher smiled and said, 'Practice makes perfect.'
Carlos believes practice makes perfect, so he draws for an hour every single night.
to use an idea, plan, or method in a real situation, instead of only talking about it.
The young teacher finally put her new reading method into practice this autumn.
It took the city two years to put its bicycle plan into practice.
to do something on a regular basis, as a personal rule or habit.
Dr. Tanaka makes a practice of greeting every patient by name.
Our family makes a practice of eating dinner together at least four nights a week.
to do the things yourself that you tell other people they should do.
The mayor talks a lot about saving water, but he should practice what he preaches.
If parents want their children to read, they need to practice what they preach.
Word family
- practiseverbA2
- practicaladjectiveB1
- practicallyadverbB2
- practitionernounC1
- practicedadjectiveB2
- unpracticaladjectiveC1
- impracticaladjectiveB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All five words describe doing something repeatedly to get better at it, but they differ in setting and structure. 'Practice' is the most general and works for almost any skill — piano, tennis, English, even patience. 'Training' suggests a longer, more organised programme, often with a coach or teacher (sports training, job training). 'Rehearsal' is reserved for music, theatre, or speeches that will later be performed in front of an audience — you rehearse a play, but you practise the violin. A 'drill' is short, focused, and often led by an instructor: a fire drill, a grammar drill. 'Exercise' is the broadest and can mean physical workout or a small task in a textbook. So you might say: 'Sofia does grammar exercises for homework, has piano practice every afternoon, joins football training on Saturday, and goes to dress rehearsals before the show.'
Common collocations
Nouns
- piano practice
- football practice
- medical practice
- common practice
- best practice
- standard practice
Phrases
- put into practice
- in theory and in practice
- make a practice of
- practice makes perfect
- practice what you preach
Prepositions
- in practice
- out of practice
- into practice
- for practice
- with practice
Etymology
Comes from the Late Latin 'practicare' meaning 'to do' or 'to perform', which itself goes back to the Greek 'praktikos' ('fit for action, practical') from 'prassein' ('to do, to act'). It entered Middle English in the 1400s through Old French as both a noun and a verb. The split between British 'practise' (verb) and 'practice' (noun) was modelled on the older pair 'advice / advise' and became fixed in the 1700s. American English later collapsed the two spellings back into a single form, 'practice', for both noun and verb.