PRACTICES
Noun
practices
plural of practice
Verb
practices
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of practice
Source: Wiktionary
PRACTICE
Prac"tice, n. Etym: [OE. praktike, practique, F. pratique, formerly
also, practique, LL. practica, fr. Gr. Practical, and cf. Pratique,
Pretty.]
1. Frequently repeated or customary action; habitual performance; a
succession of acts of a similar kind; usage; habit; custom; as, the
practice of rising early; the practice of making regular entries of
accounts; the practice of daily exercise.
A heart . . . exercised with covetous practices. 2 Pet. ii. 14.
2. Customary or constant use; state of being used.
Obsolete words may be revived when they are more sounding or more
significant than those in practice. Dryden.
3. Skill or dexterity acquired by use; expertness. [R.] "His nice
fence and his active practice." Shak.
4. Actual performance; application of knowledge; -- opposed to
theory.
There are two functions of the soul, -- contemplation and practice.
South.
There is a distinction, but no opposition, between theory and
practice; each, to a certain extent, supposes the other; theory is
dependent on practice; practice must have preceded theory. Sir W.
Hamilton.
5. Systematic exercise for instruction or discipline; as, the troops
are called out for practice; she neglected practice in music.
6. Application of science to the wants of men; the exercise of any
profession; professional business; as, the practice of medicine or
law; a large or lucrative practice.
Practice is exercise of an art, or the application of a science in
life, which application is itself an art. Sir W. Hamilton.
7. Skillful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use
of means; art; stratagem; artifice; plot; -- usually in a bad sense.
[Obs.] Bacon.
He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer. Sir
P. Sidney.
8. (Math.)
Definition: A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic
to questions which occur in trade and business.
9. (Law)
Definition: The form, manner, and order of conducting and carrying on suits
and prosecutions through their various stages, according to the
principles of law and the rules laid down by the courts. Bouvier.
Syn.
– Custom; usage; habit; manner.
Prac"tice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Practiced; p. pr. & vb. n.
Practicing.] Etym: [Often written practise, practised, practising.]
1. To do or perform frequently, customarily, or habitually; to make a
practice of; as, to practice gaming. "Incline not my heart . . .
practice wicked works." Ps. cxli. 4.
2. To exercise, or follow, as a profession, trade, art, etc., as, to
practice law or medicine.
2. To exercise one's self in, for instruction or improvement, or to
acquire discipline or dexterity; as, to practice gunnery; to practice
music.
4. To put into practice; to carry out; to act upon; to commit; to
execute; to do. "Aught but Talbot's shadow whereon to practice your
severity." Shak.
As this advice ye practice or neglect. Pope.
5. To make use of; to employ. [Obs.]
In malice to this good knight's wife, I practiced Ubaldo and Ricardo
to corrupt her. Massinger.
6. To teach or accustom by practice; to train.
In church they are taught to love God; after church they are
practiced to love their neighbor. Landor.
Prac"tice, v. i. Etym: [Often written practise.]
1. To perform certain acts frequently or customarily, either for
instruction, profit, or amusement; as, to practice with the
broadsword or with the rifle; to practice on the piano. practise
2. To learn by practice; to form a habit.
They shall practice how to live secure. Milton.
Practice first over yourself to reign. Waller.
3. To try artifices or stratagems.
He will practice against thee by poison. Shak.
4. To apply theoretical science or knowledge, esp. by way of
experiment; to exercise or pursue an employment or profession, esp.
that of medicine or of law.
[I am] little inclined to practice on others, and as little that
others should practice on me. Sir W. Temple.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition