practice
- 01 A1 Beginner
n.doing an activity many times so that you become better at it.
n.the repetitive performance of an activity or exercise for the purpose of acquiring or perfecting a skill.
Simple“If you want to play the piano well, you need a lot of practice.”
In context“The athlete attributed her record-breaking performance to years of rigorous daily practice and mental conditioning.”
PitfallI need more practice of my English. I need more practice with my English.Use 'practice with' or 'practice in' when referring to a specific subject or skill.
- 02 B1 Intermediate
n.something that people usually do in a particular society or situation.
n.a customary action, habit, or way of doing something; a conventional procedure within a group.
Simple“It is a common practice to shake hands when you meet someone new.”
In context“The company's hiring practices have come under scrutiny for failing to promote diversity within the senior management team.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the work or the office of a professional person, like a doctor or a lawyer.
n.the exercise of a profession, or the place where such a professional service is conducted.
Simple“After finishing medical school, she joined a small dental practice in the city.”
In context“The legal practice specialised in intellectual property rights, representing several high-profile tech firms in the region.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the actual doing of something rather than just the ideas about it.
n.the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories about it.
Simple“The idea sounds good, but it might be difficult to put into practice.”
In context“While the economic model was elegant in theory, it proved entirely unworkable when put into practice during the fiscal crisis.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 05 A1 Beginner
v.to do something regularly to improve your skill.
v.to perform an activity or exercise regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency.
Simple“You should practice your guitar for at least thirty minutes every day.”
In context“The choir spent the entire afternoon practicing the difficult harmonies for the upcoming winter concert.”
UsageIn American English, 'practice' is used for both the noun and the verb; in British English, the verb is spelled 'practise'.
Teacher's tipAdvise students that while the US spelling uses 'c' for both, British English follows the 'advice/advise' pattern where the noun has a 'c' and the verb has an 's'.
practice vs practise — In American English, practice is both the noun and the verb, while British English uses practice for the noun and practise for the verb.
Usage accepted practise · actual practise · agricultural practise
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.