See Also: BAR, practice(law)
CAUSE, practice(law)
practice(dictionary)
PRACTICE(law)
practice(dictionary)
best practice(dictionary)
Best practice(tourism)
Practice(medicine)
DIRECTION, practice(law)
DISCHARGE, practice(law)

practice (iou)



practice noun. Also (earlier) practise. LME.
[from PRACTISE, after such pairs as advice, advise, device, devise. Superseded PRACTIC noun.]
a. The habitual doing or carrying out of something; usual or customary action or performance; action as opp. to profession, theory, knowledge, etc. LME.
J. Barzun It being accepted practice to start conversation by asking people what they do. D. Acheson Not all the arts of diplomacy are learned solely in its practice.
b. A custom; a habit; a habitual action. M16.
H. James I can put her off her guard only by ingratiating diplomatic practices. Dissent Exchanging goods by barter, a practice that the Russians call blat.
c. Law. An established method of legal procedure. E17.
spec. The carrying out or exercise of a profession or occupation; the business to which a lawyer, doctor, etc., belongs for this purpose. LME.
C. A. Lindbergh He began his law practice in Little Falls where he served as County Attorney. W. C. Williams My first job was to resume my practice of medicine.
a. The action of scheming or planning, esp. in an underhand or evil way; treachery; trickery, artifice, deception. arch. L15.
E. A. Freeman He..died a martyr's death, through the practice of the Lady ?lfthryth.
b. Dealings, negotiation; esp. underhand dealings, intrigue. arch. M16.
c. A scheme, a conspiracy; an artifice, a trick. arch. M16.
Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it; activity undertaken to this end. Formerly also, proficiency so acquired. E16.
G. S. Haight Though she knew German thoroughly, Marian had had little practice in speaking it. N. Hinton He found that his own guitar playing improved rapidly with the constant practice. Guardian He was allowed to use the Luger for target practice.
a. The action of doing something; performance, operation; method of action or working. obsolete exc. as passing into sense 1a. M16.
b. An action, a deed; in pl., doings, proceedings. obsolete exc. as passing into sense 1b. M16.
c. Philosophy. The practical aspect or application of something as opp. to the theoretical aspect. L19.
d. In Marxism, the social activity which should result from and complement the theory of Communism. Cf. PRAXIS 1c. L19.
An exercise; a practical treatise. M16-E18.
An arithmetical method of finding the price of a given number of articles or the quantity of a commodity at a given price, where quantity or price or both are expressed in several denominations. Now rare or obsolete. L16.
Phrases: choir practice: see CHOIR noun. corrupt practice: see CORRUPT adjective. general practice: see GENERAL adjective. group practice: see GROUP noun. in practice (a) in reality, as a fact, when actually applied; (b) skilled at something through recent exercise in it or performance of it. make a practice of do regularly, make a habit of. old Spanish practice: see SPANISH adjective. out of practice no longer skilled at something through lack of recent exercise in it or performance of it. private practice: see PRIVATE adjective. put into practice apply, use, actually carry out. restrictive practice: see RESTRICTIVE adjective 3. sharp practice: see SHARP adjective. transfer of practice: see TRANSFER noun 2c.
Attrib. & comb.: In the senses 'for repeated exercise; so as to maintain or acquire proficiency', as practice game, practice-ground, practice-room, practice run, etc. Special combs., as practice bar = BARRE 2; practice-curve a curve or graph showing the relation of progress to practice.