practice
practice (prăkʹtĭs) verb
practiced, practicing, practices
verb, transitive
1. To do or perform habitually or customarily; make a habit of: She practiced restraint in her friendships.
2. To do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill: practice a dance step.
3. To give lessons or repeated instructions to; drill: practiced the students in handwriting.
4. To work at, especially as a profession: practice law.
5. To carry out in action; observe: She practices her religion piously.
6. Obsolete. To plot (something evil).
verb, intransitive
1. To do or perform something habitually or repeatedly.
2. To do something repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill.
3. To work at a profession.
4. Archaic. To intrigue or plot.
noun
1. A habitual or customary action or way of doing something: makes a practice of being punctual.
2. a. Repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill: Practice will make you a good musician. b. Archaic. The skill so learned or perfected. c. The condition of being skilled through repeated exercise: out of practice.
3. The act or process of doing something; performance or action: a theory that is difficult to put into practice.
4. Exercise of an occupation or a profession: the practice of law.
5. The business of a professional person: an obstetrician with her own practice.
6. A habitual or customary action or act. Often used in the plural: That company engages in questionable business practices. Facial tattooing is a standard practice among certain peoples.
7. Law. The methods of procedure used in a court of law.
8. Archaic. a. The act of tricking or scheming, especially with malicious intent. b. A trick, a scheme, or an intrigue.
[Middle English practisen, from Old French practiser, alteration of practiquer, from practique, practice, from Late Latin prācticē, practical. See practicable.]
pracʹticer noun
Synonyms: practice, drill, exercise, rehearse. The central meaning shared by these verbs is "to do or cause to do again and again in order to acquire proficiency": practice the shot put; drill pupils in the multiplication tables; exercising one's wits; an actor rehearsing a role. See also synonyms at habit.