I. prac ‧ tice S2 W1 /ˈpræktəs, ˈpræktɪs/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ practice , ↑ practitioner ; adjective : PRACTISED/PRACTICED , PRACTISING/PRACTICING ; verb : PRACTISE/PRACTICE ]
1 . A SKILL [uncountable and countable] when you do a particular thing, often regularly, in order to improve your skill at it:
It takes hours of practice to learn to play the guitar.
With a little more practice you should be able to pass your test.
We have choir practice on Tuesday evening.
in practice for something
Schumacher crashed out in practice for the Australian grand prix.
football/rugby/basketball etc practice
John’s at baseball practice.
► In British English, the verb is always spelled practise (see separate entry). In American English, both noun and verb are spelled practice .
2 . in practice used when saying what really happens rather than what should happen or what people think happens:
In practice women receive much lower wages than their male colleagues.
The journey should only take about 30 minutes, but in practice it usually takes more like an hour.
3 . SOMETHING DONE OFTEN [uncountable and countable] something that people do often, especially a particular way of doing something or a social or religious custom:
religious beliefs and practices
dangerous working practices
the practice of doing something
the practice of dumping waste into the sea
4 . DOCTOR/LAWYER [countable] the work of a doctor or lawyer, or the place where they work
medical/legal practice
Mary Beth had a busy legal practice in Los Angeles.
⇨ ↑ general practice , ↑ private practice
5 . be common/standard/normal practice to be the usual and accepted way of doing something:
It’s common practice in many countries for pupils to repeat a year if their grades are low.
It’s standard practice to seek parents’ permission wherever possible.
6 . good/best/bad practice an example of a good or bad way of doing something, especially in a particular job:
It’s not considered good practice to reveal clients’ names.
7 . put something into practice if you put an idea, plan etc into practice, you start to use it and see if it is effective:
It gave him the chance to put his ideas into practice.
8 . be out of practice to have not done something for a long time, so that you are not able to do it well
9 . practice makes perfect used to say that if you do an activity regularly, you will become very good at it
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ do practice
Have you done your piano practice?
▪ take practice American English (=do practice)
If he’d done badly, he’d go out and take extra batting practice.
▪ have some/more etc practice (=do practice)
I’m not a very good dancer. I haven’t had enough practice.
▪ get some practice
You must get as much practice as possible before the competition.
▪ need practice
She needs more practice.
▪ something takes practice (=you can only learn to do it well by practising)
Writing well takes practice.
■ NOUN + practice
▪ football/basketball etc practice
Dale was at football practice.
▪ piano/cello etc practice
I’ve got to do my cello practice.
▪ batting/catching etc practice
We'd better do a bit of batting practice before the game.
▪ choir practice
There's choir practice on Tuesday evening.
▪ band practice
Have you got band practice tonight?
▪ target practice (=practice shooting at something)
The area is used by the army for target practice.
▪ teaching practice
You have to do three months of teaching practice before you qualify.
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THESAURUS
▪ habit something you do regularly, often without thinking about it:
Biting your nails is a bad habit.
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I always go to the same supermarket, out of habit.
▪ mannerism a way of speaking or a small movement of your face or body that is part of your usual behaviour:
Even her mannerisms are the same as her sister’s.
▪ custom something that people in a particular society do because it is traditional or the accepted thing to do:
In Japan it is the custom to take off your shoes when you enter a house.
▪ tradition a belief, custom, or way of doing something that has existed for a long time:
The tradition of giving Easter eggs goes back hundreds of years.
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In many countries, it’s a tradition for the bride to wear white.
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It was a family tradition to go for a walk on Christmas Day.
▪ practice something that people often do, especially as part of their work or daily life:
The hotel has ended the practice of leaving chocolates in guests’ rooms.
II. prac ‧ tise S3 W3 BrE AmE British English , practice American English /ˈpræktəs, ˈpræktɪs/ verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ practice , ↑ practitioner ; adjective : PRACTISED/PRACTICED , PRACTISING/PRACTICING ; verb : PRACTISE/PRACTICE ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to do an activity, often regularly, in order to improve your skill or to prepare for a test:
They moved the furniture back to practise their dance routine.
It gives students the opportunity to practice their speaking skills.
practise doing something
Today we’re going to practise parking.
practise for
She’s practicing for her piano recital.
practise something on somebody
Everybody wants to practise their English on me.
2 . [transitive] to use a particular method or custom:
a technique not widely practised in Europe
3 . [intransitive and transitive] to work as a doctor or lawyer:
medical graduates who intend to practise in the UK
practise as
Gemma is now practising as a dentist.
4 . [transitive] if you practise a religion, system of ideas etc, you live your life according to its rules:
They are free to practice their religion openly.
5 . practise what you preach to do the things that you advise other people to do:
She didn’t always practise what she preached.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ practise British English , practice American English verb [intransitive and transitive] to do an activity many times in order to improve your skill or to prepare for a test:
The course will give you a chance to practise your language skills.
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He was practising his golf swing.
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You need to practise regularly if you're going to be a good piano player.
▪ train verb [intransitive] to practise physical movements or activities in preparation for a race or game:
He's training for the Olympics.
▪ rehearse verb [intransitive and transitive] to practise a play, speech, or music in preparation for a public performance:
She's in New York where she's rehearsing her new play.
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The band are currently rehearsing for their world tour.
▪ work on something to practise a particular skill so that your general performance improves:
You need to work on your listening comprehension.
▪ go/run through something to practise something such as a speech, play, or piece of music by reading or playing it from the beginning to the end:
I'll just run through the speech one more time.