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Practice vs Program - What's the difference?

practice | program |

As nouns the difference between practice and program

is that practice is repetition of an activity to improve skill while program is a set of structured activities.

As verbs the difference between practice and program

is that practice is to repeat (an activity) as a way of improving one's skill in that activity while program is to enter a program or other instructions into (a computer or other electronic device) to instruct it to do a particular task.

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

    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

    program

    English

    Alternative forms

    * programme (see usage notes)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A set of structured activities.
  • :
  • A leaflet listing information about a play, game or other activity.
  • :
  • A performance of a show or other broadcast on radio or television.
  • :
  • (lb) A software application, or a collection of software applications, designed to perform a specific task.
  • :
  • A particular mindset or method of doing things.
  • *Ellis in the movie Die Hard
  • *:Come on, John, why don’t you get with the program and tell him where the detonators are?
  • Usage notes

    * Usage of program'' and ''programme : ** US: program is the only spelling normally used. ** UK: programme'' is used in all cases except for computer code, in which case ''program'' is generally used. Older sources may use ''programme for computer code. ** Canada: both program'' and ''programme'' are used, but ''programme is more common. ** Australia: program'' is endorsed by the Australian government, but ''programme is most common. ** New Zealand: programme'' is favoured by New Zealand dictionaries, and is endorsed by government usage; ''program is rarely seen outside the computing meaning.

    Synonyms

    * (leaflet): playbill (for a play ) * (software application): application

    Derived terms

    * programme block * program counter * program evaluation and review technique * program guide * program music * program slicer * program trading

    Verb

    (programm)
  • To enter a program or other instructions into (a computer or other electronic device) to instruct it to do a particular task.
  • * He programmed the DVR to record his favorite show.
  • To develop (software) by writing program code.
  • I programmed a small game as a demonstration.
  • To put together the schedule of an event.
  • * Mary will program Tuesday’s festivities.
  • To cause to automatically behave in a particular way.
  • * The lab rat was programmed to press the lever when the bell rang.