Practice vs. Practices — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Urooj Arif — Updated on April 22, 2024
"Practice" refers to the act of rehearsing a behavior repeatedly, while "practices" denotes the various ways or routines something is done across different contexts.
Difference Between Practice and Practices
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Practice" often implies the method of training or honing skills through repetition, such as in sports or music, whereas "practices" can refer to customary actions or established procedures in professional, cultural, or religious settings.
In singular form, "practice" can signify the act of continually performing or exercising to improve a skill, while in plural, "practices" highlights the diversity of methodologies or strategies applied in various fields or situations.
The term "practice" is used to describe a routine or habit that an individual undertakes regularly to maintain or improve proficiency, on the other hand, "practices" might refer to collective or shared routines followed by a group or organization.
"Practice" can also denote the pursuit of a profession, like a medical or law practice, highlighting the personal application of specialized knowledge; conversely, "practices" often implies the broader application of such professional standards across a community or society.
While "practice" encapsulates a singular, often personalized concept of repeated action or exercise, "practices" encompasses a set of actions or norms that reflect the collective ethos or operational standards of multiple entities.
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Comparison Chart
Number
Singular
Plural
Usage
Refers to continuous repetition
Refers to methods, customs, or routines
Context
Often personal or individual
Broad, encompassing multiple people
Example Fields
Music, sports training
Business, cultural norms, professional
Concept Focus
Personal improvement or professional work
Collective actions or societal standards
Compare with Definitions
Practice
Repeated exercise to improve skills.
His piano practice takes two hours daily.
Practices
Established procedures within a field.
The company’s management practices are innovative.
Practice
Customary action or routine.
It’s her practice to jog every morning.
Practices
Regular activities of a group.
Their religious practices include fasting and prayers.
Practice
Professional business.
She built her dental practice from the ground up.
Practices
Cultural traditions.
Local practices vary significantly from region to region.
Practice
Legal or ethical adherence.
The firm emphasizes ethical practice in all dealings.
Practices
Standard operations in business.
Their hiring practices focus on diversity and inclusion.
Practice
The actual application or use of an idea.
Theory is different from practice.
Practices
Collective routines.
Safety practices in the workplace are strictly enforced.
Practice
The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it
The principles and practice of teaching
The recommendations proved too expensive to put into practice
Practices
To do or perform habitually or customarily; make a habit of
Practices courtesy in social situations.
Practice
The customary, habitual, or expected procedure or way of doing of something
Modern child-rearing practices
Product placement is common practice in American movies
Practices
To do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill
Practice a dance step.
Practice
Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it
It must have taken a lot of practice to become so fluent
Practices
To give lessons or repeated instructions to; drill
Practiced the students in handwriting.
Practice
US spelling of practise
Practices
To work at, especially as a profession
Practice law.
Practice
To do or perform habitually or customarily; make a habit of
Practices courtesy in social situations.
Practices
To carry out in action; observe
Practices a religion piously.
Practice
To do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill
Practice a dance step.
Practices
(Obsolete) To plot (something evil).
Practice
To give lessons or repeated instructions to; drill
Practiced the students in handwriting.
Practices
To do something repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill
With any musical instrument, you need to practice to get better.
Practice
To work at, especially as a profession
Practice law.
Practices
To work at a profession
How long has that lawyer been practicing?.
Practice
To carry out in action; observe
Practices a religion piously.
Practices
To do or perform something habitually or repeatedly
Why not practice in the same manner that you preach?.
Practice
(Obsolete) To plot (something evil).
Practices
(Archaic) To intrigue or plot.
Practice
To do something repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill
With any musical instrument, you need to practice to get better.
Practices
A habitual or customary action or way of doing something
Makes a practice of being punctual.
Practice
To work at a profession
How long has that lawyer been practicing?.
Practices
Repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill
Practice will make you a good musician.
Practice
To do or perform something habitually or repeatedly
Why not practice in the same manner that you preach?.
Practices
A session of preparation or performance undertaken to acquire or polish a skill
Goes to piano practice weekly.
Scheduled a soccer practice for Saturday.
Practice
(Archaic) To intrigue or plot.
Practices
(Archaic) The skill so learned or perfected.
Practice
A habitual or customary action or way of doing something
Makes a practice of being punctual.
Practices
The condition of being skilled through repeated exercise
Out of practice.
Practice
Repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill
Practice will make you a good musician.
Practices
The act or process of doing something; performance or action
A theory that is difficult to put into practice.
Practice
A session of preparation or performance undertaken to acquire or polish a skill
Goes to piano practice weekly.
Scheduled a soccer practice for Saturday.
Practices
Exercise of an occupation or profession
The practice of law.
Practice
(Archaic) The skill so learned or perfected.
Practices
The business of a professional person
An obstetrician with her own practice.
Practice
The condition of being skilled through repeated exercise
Out of practice.
Practices
A habitual or customary action or act
That company engages in questionable business practices. Facial tattooing is a standard practice among certain peoples.
Practice
The act or process of doing something; performance or action
A theory that is difficult to put into practice.
Practices
(Law) The procedure for trial of cases in a court of law, usually specified by rules.
Practice
Exercise of an occupation or profession
The practice of law.
Practices
The act of tricking or scheming, especially with malicious intent.
Practice
The business of a professional person
An obstetrician with her own practice.
Practices
A trick, scheme, or intrigue.
Practice
A habitual or customary action or act
That company engages in questionable business practices. Facial tattooing is a standard practice among certain peoples.
Practices
Plural of practice
Practice
(Law) The procedure for trial of cases in a court of law, usually specified by rules.
Practice
The act of tricking or scheming, especially with malicious intent.
Practice
A trick, scheme, or intrigue.
Practice
Repetition of an activity to improve a skill.
He will need lots of practice with the lines before he performs them.
Practice
An organized event for the purpose of performing such repetition.
Being on a team is hard: you're always having to go to practice while everyone else is taking it easy.
I have choir practice every Sunday after church.
Practice
The ongoing pursuit of a craft or profession, particularly in medicine or the fine arts.
Practice
(countable) A place where a professional service is provided, such as a general practice.
She ran a thriving medical practice.
Practice
The observance of religious duties that a church requires of its members.
Practice
A customary action, habit, or behaviour; a manner or routine.
It is the usual practice of employees there to wear neckties only when meeting with customers.
It is good practice to check each door and window before leaving.
Practice
Actual operation or experiment, in contrast to theory.
That may work in theory, but will it work in practice?
Practice
(legal) 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.
This firm of solicitors is involved in family law practice.
Practice
Skilful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; stratagem; artifice.
Practice
(math) A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business.
Practice
(US) practise
Practice
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.
Practice
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.
Practice
Skill or dexterity acquired by use; expertness.
Practice
Actual performance; application of knowledge; - opposed to theory.
There are two functions of the soul, - contemplation and practice.
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.
Practice
Systematic exercise for instruction or discipline; as, the troops are called out for practice; she neglected practice in music.
Practice
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.
Practice
Skillful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; art; stratagem; artifice; plot; - usually in a bad sense.
He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer.
Practice
A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business.
Practice
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.
Practice
To do or perform frequently, customarily, or habitually; to make a practice of; as, to practice gaming.
Practice
To exercise, or follow, as a profession, trade, art, etc., as, to practice law or medicine.
Practice
To exercise one's self in, for instruction or improvement, or to acquire discipline or dexterity; as, to practice gunnery; to practice music.
Practice
To put into practice; to carry out; to act upon; to commit; to execute; to do.
As this advice ye practice or neglect.
Practice
To make use of; to employ.
In malice to this good knight's wife, I practiced Ubaldo and Ricardo to corrupt her.
Practice
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.
Practice
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.
Practice
To learn by practice; to form a habit.
They shall practice how to live secure.
Practice first over yourself to reign.
Practice
To try artifices or stratagems.
He will practice against thee by poison.
Practice
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.
Practice
A customary way of operation or behavior;
It is their practice to give annual raises
They changed their dietary pattern
Practice
Systematic training by multiple repetitions;
Practice makes perfect
Practice
Translating an idea into action;
A hard theory to put into practice
Differences between theory and praxis of communism
Practice
The exercise of a profession;
The practice of the law
I took over his practice when he retired
Practice
Knowledge of how something is usually done;
It is not the local practice to wear shorts to dinner
Practice
Learn by repetition;
We drilled French verbs every day
Pianists practice scales
Practice
Avail oneself to;
Apply a principle
Practice a religion
Use care when going down the stairs
Use your common sense
Practice non-violent resistance
Practice
Carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions;
Practice law
Practice
Engage in a rehearsal (of)
Common Curiosities
How do practices influence workplace culture?
Practices establish the standard procedures that shape the norms and expectations of workplace culture.
What is the role of practice in professional development?
Continuous practice is essential for professional growth and expertise in any field.
Is there a legal implication to the term "practices"?
Yes, in contexts like "fair practices," it refers to accepted standards of operation, often legally defined.
Are practices in business legally enforceable?
Some practices, especially those concerning safety and employment, are regulated and enforceable.
Are practices always followed by large groups?
Typically, practices involve routines or norms adhered to by groups, not necessarily large, but definitely plural.
How do cultural practices differ globally?
Cultural practices vary widely, reflecting the diverse values, beliefs, and histories of different societies.
How do individual and group practices differ?
Individual practices focus on personal habits, while group practices refer to shared routines and norms.
Can the term "practice" refer to a hobby?
Yes, if the hobby involves regular and repeated activities aimed at improvement.
How often should one engage in practice to see improvement?
Regular and consistent practice is key to observing significant improvements.
What is the significance of practice in learning?
Practice is crucial for mastering skills through repetition and refinement.
How are unethical practices addressed in corporations?
Unethical practices are typically addressed through regulations, oversight, and internal policies.
What impact do best practices have in a professional setting?
Best practices optimize performance and ensure consistency in professional settings.
Can practices evolve over time?
Yes, practices may evolve as new methods are developed and societal norms change.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
