prac‧tice S2 W1 / præktəs, præktɪs / 名词

1 a skill [可数和不可数名词] 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 动词 is always spelled practise (see separate entry). In American English, both 名词 and 动词 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 [可数和不可数名词] 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 [可数名词] 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

COLLOCATIONS

动词

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.

THESAURUS

habit something you do regularly, often without thinking about it : Biting your nails is a bad habit. | 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. | In many countries, it’s a tradition for the bride to wear white. | 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.