Library / English Dictionary

PRACTICE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A customary way of operation or behavior

Example:

they changed their dietary pattern

Synonyms:

pattern; practice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("practice" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "practice"):

cross dressing; transvestism; transvestitism (the practice of adopting the clothes or the manner or the sexual role of the opposite sex)

systematism (the habitual practice of systematization and classification)

naturism; nudism (going without clothes as a social practice)

ritualism (exaggerated emphasis on the importance of rites or ritualistic forms in worship)

ritual (the prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies)

quotation (the practice of quoting from books or plays etc.)

papism; popery (offensive terms for the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church)

calisthenics; callisthenics (the practice of calisthenic exercises)

nonconformism (the practice of nonconformity)

mistreatment (the practice of treating (someone or something) badly)

lynch law (the practice of punishing people by hanging without due process of law)

unwritten law (law based on customary behavior)

peonage (the practice of making a debtor work for his creditor until the debt is discharged)

slaveholding; slavery (the practice of owning slaves)

lobbyism (the practice of lobbying; the activities of a lobbyist)

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)

Derivation:

practical (concerned with actual use or practice)

practical (guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory)

practice (avail oneself to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Translating an idea into action

Example:

differences between theory and praxis of communism

Synonyms:

practice; praxis

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("practice" is a kind of...):

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

The exercise of a profession

Example:

I took over his practice when he retired

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("practice" is a kind of...):

employment; exercise; usage; use; utilisation; utilization (the act of using)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "practice"):

witching (the use or practice of witchcraft)

private practice (the practice of a profession independently and not as an employee)

optometry (the practice of an optometrist)

medical practice (the practice of medicine)

law practice (the practice of law)

dental practice (the practice of dentistry)

cosmetology (the practice of beautifying the face and hair and skin)

consultancy (the practice of giving expert advice within a particular field)

Derivation:

practice (avail oneself to)

practice (carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Systematic training by multiple repetitions

Example:

practice makes perfect

Synonyms:

drill; exercise; practice; practice session; recitation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("practice" is a kind of...):

grooming; preparation; training (activity leading to skilled behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "practice"):

target practice (practice in shooting at targets)

shadowboxing (sparring with an imaginary opponent (for exercise or training))

scrimmage ((American football) practice play between a football team's squads)

brushup; review (practice intended to polish performance or refresh the memory)

dry run; rehearsal (a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert))

rehearsal ((psychology) a form of practice; repetition of information (silently or aloud) in order to keep it in short-term memory)

military drill (training in marching and the use of weapons)

manual; manual of arms ((military) a prescribed drill in handling a rifle)

fire drill (an exercise intended to train people in duties and escape procedures to be followed in case of fire)

Derivation:

practice (learn by repetition)

practice (engage in a rehearsal (of))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Knowledge of how something is usually done

Example:

it is not the local practice to wear shorts to dinner

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("practice" is a kind of...):

cognition; knowledge; noesis (the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "practice"):

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Learn by repetition

Example:

Pianists practice scales

Synonyms:

drill; exercise; practice; practise

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "practice" is one way to...):

learn; read; study; take (be a student of a certain subject)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

practice (systematic training by multiple repetitions)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Engage in a rehearsal (of)

Synonyms:

practice; practise; rehearse

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "practice" is one way to...):

do; execute; perform (carry out or perform an action)

Domain category:

performing arts (arts or skills that require public performance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "practice"):

walk through (perform in a perfunctory way, as for a first rehearsal)

scrimmage (practice playing (a sport))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They will practice the duet

Derivation:

practice (systematic training by multiple repetitions)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Engage in or perform

Example:

commit a random act of kindness

Synonyms:

commit; practice

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "practice" is one way to...):

engage; prosecute; pursue (carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Avail oneself to

Example:

practice non-violent resistance

Synonyms:

apply; practice; use

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Verb group:

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

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "practice"):

follow (adhere to or practice)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

practice (a customary way of operation or behavior)

practice (the exercise of a profession)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions

Example:

practice law

Synonyms:

do; exercise; practice; practise

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

"Practice" entails doing...:

do work; work (be employed)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "practice"):

shamanise; shamanize (practice shamanism)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

practice (the exercise of a profession)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Treatment used instead of, or supplementary to, conventional Western-based practices.

(Alternative Medical Procedure, NCI Thesaurus)

Asthma health status in clinical practice: validity of a new short and simple instrument.

(Airway Questionnaire 20, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Acupuncture has been practiced in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years.

(Acupuncture, NIH: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

As to the management of their children, his theory was much better than his wife's, and his practice not so bad.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Livesey, said the squire, you will give up this wretched practice at once.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I suppose there is not a man in such practice anywhere.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I hesitated long before I put this theory to the test of practice.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

My judgment, he returned, is all on your side of the question; but I am afraid my practice is much more on your sister's.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Refers to the practices and procedures used for the prevention, treatment, or relief of symptoms of a diseases or abnormal conditions.

(Medicine, NCI Dictionary)

No unusual thing for a doctor in practice.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)