*practice*

n. [ Mal- + practice. ] Evil practice; illegal or immoral conduct; practice contrary to established rules; specifically, the treatment of a case by a surgeon or physician in a manner which is contrary to accepted rules and productive of unfavorable results. [ Written also malepractice. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Wrong practice. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. praktike, practique, F. pratique, formerly also, practique, LL. practica, fr. Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; practical. See 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

A heart . . . exercised with covetous practices. 2 Pet. ii. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Customary or constant use; state of being used. [ 1913 Webster ]

Obsolete words may be revived when they are more sounding or more significant than those in practice. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Skill or dexterity acquired by use; expertness. [ R. ] “His nice fence and his active practice.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Actual performance; application of knowledge; -- opposed to theory. [ 1913 Webster ]

There are two functions of the soul, -- contemplation and practice. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Systematic exercise for instruction or discipline; as, the troops are called out for practice; she neglected practice in music. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Practice is exercise of an art, or the application of a science in life, which application is itself an art. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Skillful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; art; stratagem; artifice; plot; -- usually in a bad sense. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Math.) A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Law) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Custom; usage; habit; manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Practiced p. pr. & vb. n. Practicing ] [ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To exercise, or follow, as a profession, trade, art, etc., as, to practice law or medicine. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To exercise one's self in, for instruction or improvement, or to acquire discipline or dexterity; as, to practice gunnery; to practice music. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

As this advice ye practice or neglect. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To make use of; to employ. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

In malice to this good knight's wife, I practiced Ubaldo and Ricardo to corrupt her. Massinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To teach or accustom by practice; to train. [ 1913 Webster ]

In church they are taught to love God; after church they are practiced to love their neighbor. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To learn by practice; to form a habit. [ 1913 Webster ]

They shall practice how to live secure. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Practice first over yourself to reign. Waller. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To try artifices or stratagems. [ 1913 Webster ]

He will practice against thee by poison. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ I am ] little inclined to practice on others, and as little that others should practice on me. Sir W. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Often written practised. ] 1. Experienced; expert; skilled; as, a practiced marksman. “A practiced picklock.” Ld. Lytton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Used habitually; learned by practice. [ 1913 Webster ]