Word family noun practice practitioner adjective practised/practiced practising/practicing verb practise/practice
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpractiseprac‧tise British English, practice American English /ˈpræktɪs/ ●●● S3 W3 verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]PRACTISE/PRACTICE 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.GrammarPractise is followed by an -ing form, not an infinitive. You say: We practised hitting the ball. ✗Don’t say: We practised to hit the ball.2 [transitive]DO to use a particular method or custom This technique is widely practised in Europe (=many people use it).3 [intransitive, transitive]WORK/DO WORK to work as a doctor or lawyer When she has completed her training, she intends to practise in the UK.practise as Gemma is now practising as a dentist.4 [transitive]RRRELIGION 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 preachTHESAURUSpractise British English, practice American English verb [intransitive, transitive] to do an activity many times in order to improve your skill or to prepare for a testThe course will give you a chance to practise your language skills.He was practising his golf swing.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 gameHe's training for the Olympics.rehearse verb [intransitive, transitive] to practise a play, speech, or music in preparation for a public performanceShe's in New York where she's rehearsing her new play.The band are currently rehearsing for their world tour.work on something to practise a particular skill so that your general performance improvesYou 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 endI'll just run through the speech one more time. → See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
practise• A small proportion of those who complete their training do not practise as doctors.• Finding a rugby ball, they practised drop kicks in the boathouse, much to Jurgen's annoyance.• I'm learning how to play the piano, and I try to practise every day.• Kingsley has been practising from the London Hydrotherapy Centre since 1960.• We're going to Paris for a week in summer, so that Bill can practise his French.• At night, in our hotel, we practised how quickly we could roll out of our beds in case of an attack!• He'd been practising it while I'd been away.• I graduated from Manchester Law school and practised law with the firm of Arthur & Madden of Birmingham.• I didn't need to, because he was sitting right next to me, but I wanted to practise my writing.• I always wanted to be a hairdresser, and used to practise on my friends.• Practise speaking slowly and clearly.• Don't be tempted to practise specific exercises in between doing other jobs or to demonstrate a particularly good exercise to a friend.• Students of chanting practised their art on the beach, with one ear attuned to the waves.From Longman Business Dictionarypractiseprac‧tise /ˈpræktɪs/ British English, practice American English verb [intransitive, transitive] to work in a particular profession, especially medicine or lawHe practised law for 15 years.Firms are adopting the system of practicing in larger partnerships and teams.practise asStudents must reach the highest standards to allow them to practise as actuaries.→ See Verb table 