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Practice vs Learn - What's the difference?

practice | learn |

As verbs the difference between practice and learn

is that practice is to repeat (an activity) as a way of improving one's skill in that activity while learn is to acquire, or attempt to acquire knowledge or an ability to do something.

As a noun practice

is repetition of an activity to improve skill.

practice

English

(wikipedia practice)

Alternative forms

* (British) practise (used only for the verb )

Noun

(practices)
  • Repetition of an activity to improve skill.
    • He will need lots of practice with the lines before he performs them.
  • (uncountable) The ongoing pursuit of a craft or profession, particularly in medicine or the fine arts.
  • (countable) A place where a professional service is provided, such as a general practice.
    • She ran a thriving medical practice .
  • The observance of religious duties that a church requires of its members.
  • A customary action, habit, or behavior; 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.
  • Actual operation or experiment, in contrast to theory.
    • That may work in theory, but will it work in 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 .
  • Skilful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; stratagem; artifice.
  • * Sir Philip Sidney
    • He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer.
    (Francis Bacon)
  • (math) A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business.

    • Usage notes

    British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand English distinguish between practice'' (a noun) and ''practise (a verb), analogously with advice/advise. In American English, practice is commonly used for both forms, and this is also common in Canada.

    Synonyms

    * (improvement of skill) rehearsal, drill, exercise, training, workout * (customary action) custom, habit, routine, wont, wone * fashion, pattern, trick, way, dry run, trial

    Derived terms

    * general practice * overpractice * practice makes perfect * practice what one preaches * put into practice * sharp practice

    Related terms

    * practic * practicable * practical * practitioner

    Verb

    (practic)
  • (US) To repeat (an activity) as a way of improving one's skill in that activity.
    • You should practice playing piano every day.
  • (US) To repeat an activity in this way.
    • If you want to speak French well, you need to practice .
  • (US) To perform or observe in a habitual fashion.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April
    • , author=John T. Jost , title=Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)? , volume=100, issue=2, page=162 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. With this biological framework in place, Corning endeavors to show that the capitalist system as currently practiced in the United States and elsewhere is manifestly unfair.}}
    They gather to practice religion every Saturday.
  • (US) To pursue (a career, especially law, fine art or medicine).
    • She practiced law for forty years before retiring.
  • (intransitive, archaic, US) To conspire.

    • Usage notes

    * In sense "to repeat an activity as a way improving one's skill" this is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . See

    Derived terms

    * practiced * practicing

    learn

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) lernen, from (etyl) . Compare (etyl) lernen.

    Verb

  • To acquire, or attempt to acquire knowledge or an ability to do something.
  • To attend a course or other educational activity.
  • * 1719 ,
    • For, as he took delight to introduce me, I took delight to learn.
  • To gain knowledge from a bad experience.
    • learn from one's mistakes
  • To be studying.
  • To come to know; to become informed of; to find out.
    • He just learned that he will be sacked.
    Usage notes
    * See other, dated and regional, sense of below.
    Synonyms
    * (l)
    Antonyms
    * (l) * (l)
    Derived terms
    * (l) * (l)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) . Compare Dutch leren, German (m).

    Verb

  • *:
  • *:And whan she had serched hym / she fond in the bottome of his wound that therin was poyson / And soo she heled hym/ and therfore Tramtrist cast grete loue to la beale Isoud / for she was at that tyme the fairest mayde and lady of the worlde / And there Tramtryst lerned her to harpe / and she beganne to haue grete fantasye vnto hym
  • *1599 , (William Shakespeare), (Much Ado About Nothing) ,
  • *:Sweet prince, you learn me noble thankfulness.
  • *circa 1611 , (William Shakespeare), (Cymbeline), :
  • *:Have I not been / Thy pupil long? Hast thou not learn’d me how / To make perfumes?
  • *1993 , The Simpsons , (18 Feb. 1993) Lisa's thoughts:
  • *:That'll learn him to bust my tomater.
    • Usage notes
    Now often considered non-standard.
    Derived terms
    * (l)
    Related terms
    * (l) * (l)

    References

    * * * Family Word Finder Readers Digest Association Inc. NY 1975

    Anagrams

    * * English irregular verbs 1000 English basic words ----