Search Results
Advanced Search
List Builder
Random Word

practice

Practice can be a noun or a verb, but either way it's about how things are done on a regular basis. You can practice shotput every day because your town has a practice of supporting track-and-field events.

One can practice the tuba for hours on end, repeating the same song over and over, serving to both get better at the tuba and to convince the neighbors they should move to Florida. You could learn the common practice of offering a guest a beverage when they arrive at your party, if you care to be polite. One can also practice a profession or a religion, as in “I practice Buddhism and I have a booming international law practice.”

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: practice

1	n v	a customary way of operation or behavior carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions
2	n v	systematic training by multiple repetitions learn by repetition

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: practice

n a customary way of operation or behavior

“it is their practice to give annual raises”

Synonyms:: pattern

Types:: show 49 types...; hide 49 types...; biologism
use of biological principles in explaining human especially social behavior; cooperation
the practice of cooperating; featherbedding
the practice (usually by a labor union) of requiring an employer to hire more workers than are required; formalism
the practice of scrupulous adherence to prescribed or external forms; one-upmanship
the practice of keeping one jump ahead of a friend or competitor; pluralism
the practice of one person holding more than one benefice at a time; symbolisation, symbolism, symbolization
the practice of investing things with symbolic meaning; modernism
practices typical of contemporary life or thought; occult, occult arts
supernatural practices and techniques; ornamentalism
the practice of ornamental display; cannibalism
the practice of eating the flesh of your own kind; careerism
the practice of advancing your career at the expense of your personal integrity; custom, usage, usance
accepted or habitual practice; habitude
habitual mode of behavior; fashion
characteristic or habitual practice; lobbyism
the practice of lobbying; the activities of a lobbyist; slaveholding, slavery
the practice of owning slaves; peonage
the practice of making a debtor work for his creditor until the debt is discharged; unwritten law
law based on customary behavior; lynch law
the practice of punishing people by hanging without due process of law; mistreatment
the practice of treating (someone or something) badly; nonconformism
the practice of nonconformity; calisthenics, callisthenics
the practice of calisthenic exercises; papism, popery
offensive terms for the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church; quotation
the practice of quoting from books or plays etc.; ritual
the prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies; ritualism
exaggerated emphasis on the importance of rites or ritualistic forms in worship; naturism, nudism
going without clothes as a social practice; systematism
the habitual practice of systematization and classification; cross dressing, transvestism, transvestitism
the practice of adopting the clothes or the manner or the sexual role of the opposite sex; ablution
the ritual washing of a priest's hands or of sacred vessels; anthropophagy
human cannibalism; the eating of human flesh; Americanism
a custom that is peculiar to the United States or its citizens; Anglicism, Britishism
a custom that is peculiar to England or its citizens; consuetude
a custom or usage that has acquired the force of law; couvade
a custom among some peoples whereby the husband of a pregnant wife is put to bed at the time of bearing the child; Germanism
a custom that is peculiar to Germany or its citizens; habit, use
(psychology) an automatic pattern of behavior in reaction to a specific situation; may be inherited or acquired through frequent repetition; hijab
the custom in some Islamic societies of women dressing modestly outside the home; daily round, round
the usual activities in your day; line of least resistance, path of least resistance
the easiest way; annoyance, annoying, irritation, vexation
the act of troubling or annoying someone; disregard, neglect
willful lack of care and attention; exploitation, using, victimisation, victimization
an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly); harassment, molestation
the act of tormenting by continued persistent attacks and criticism; abuse, ill-treatment, ill-usage, maltreatment
cruel or inhumane treatment; celebration, solemnisation, solemnization
the public performance of a sacrament or solemn ceremony with all appropriate ritual; rite, ritual
any customary observance or practice; Communion, Holy Communion, manduction, sacramental manduction
the act of participating in the celebration of the Eucharist

Type of:: activity
any specific behavior

n knowledge of how something is usually done

“it is not the local practice to wear shorts to dinner”

Types:: show 9 types...; hide 9 types...; custom, tradition
a specific practice of long standing; convention, formula, normal, pattern, rule
something regarded as a normative example; heritage
practices that are handed down from the past by tradition; mores
(sociology) the conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group; code of behavior, code of conduct
a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group; universal
a behavioral convention or pattern characteristic of all members of a particular culture or of all human beings; habit, wont
an established custom; Hadith
(Islam) a tradition based on reports of the sayings and activities of Muhammad and his companions; institution
a custom that for a long time has been an important feature of some group or society

Type of:: cognition, knowledge, noesis
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning

n the exercise of a profession

“the practice of the law”

“I took over his practice when he retired”

Types:: show 11 types...; hide 11 types...; consultancy
the practice of giving expert advice within a particular field; cosmetology
the practice of beautifying the face and hair and skin; dental practice
the practice of dentistry; law practice
the practice of law; medical practice
the practice of medicine; optometry
the practice of an optometrist; private practice
the practice of a profession independently and not as an employee; witching
the use or practice of witchcraft; family medicine, family practice
medical practice that provides health care regardless of age or sex while placing emphasis on the family unit; group practice
(medicine) the practice of medicine by a group of physicians who share their premises and other resources; empiricism, quackery
medical practice and advice based on observation and experience in ignorance of scientific findings

Type of:: employment, exercise, usage, use, utilisation, utilization
the act of using

n translating an idea into action

“a hard theory to put into practice”

Synonyms:: praxis

Type of:: effectuation, implementation
the act of implementing (providing a practical means for accomplishing something); carrying into effect

v carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions

“practice law”

Synonyms:: do, exercise, practise

Types:: shamanise, shamanize
practice shamanism

v engage in or perform

“practice safe sex”

Synonyms:: commit

Type of:: engage, prosecute, pursue
carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in

v avail oneself to

“practice a religion”

“practice non-violent resistance”

Synonyms:: apply, use

: apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize
put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose

Types:: follow
adhere to or practice

n systematic training by multiple repetitions

“practice makes perfect”

Synonyms:: drill, exercise, practice session, recitation

Types:: show 15 types...; hide 15 types...; fire drill
an exercise intended to train people in duties and escape procedures to be followed in case of fire; manual, manual of arms
(military) a prescribed drill in handling a rifle; military drill
training in marching and the use of weapons; rehearsal
(psychology) a form of practice; repetition of information (silently or aloud) in order to keep it in short-term memory; dry run, rehearsal
a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert); brushup, review
practice intended to polish performance or refresh the memory; scrimmage
(American football) practice play between a football team's squads; shadowboxing
sparring with an imaginary opponent (for exercise or training); target practice
practice in shooting at targets; close-order drill
(military) military drill of troops in standard marching (shoulder-to-shoulder); square-bashing
drill on a barracks square; dress rehearsal
a full uninterrupted rehearsal in costumes shortly before the first performance; run-through
an uninterrupted rehearsal; walk-through
a first perfunctory rehearsal of a theatrical production in which actors read their lines from the script and move as directed; rub up
a review that refreshes your memory

Type of:: grooming, preparation, training
activity leading to skilled behavior

v learn by repetition

“Pianists practice scales”

Synonyms:: drill, exercise, practise

Type of:: learn, read, study, take
be a student of a certain subject

v engage in a rehearsal (of)

Synonyms:: practise, rehearse

Types:: walk through
perform in a perfunctory way, as for a first rehearsal; scrimmage
practice playing (a sport)

Type of:: do, execute, perform
carry out or perform an action

Learn Launch

WORD FAMILY

USAGE EXAMPLES