practise

/ˈpɹæktɪs/

//ˈpɹæktɪs// verb

"practise" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“practise” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,615. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,615
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To repeat (an activity) as a way of improving one's skill in that activity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-practise · practise · English

practise · rank #14,615 · 12 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,615
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH platoon

Nearest frequency peer: platoon (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “practise”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “practise” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

practise vs praise
75% similar
practise vs precise
75% similar
practise vs proactive
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for practise
PropertyValue
Headwordpractise
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɹæktɪs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,615
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “practise”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).practiselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “platoon” (#14,614), “presses” (#14,616), “piracy” (#14,613). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “practise” is #14,615. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around practise (IPA /ˈpɹæktɪs/), averb. Corpus frequency is #14,615 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for practise, with forms such as "parctise", "ppractise", and "pracctise". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "praise", "precise", "proactive", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English practizen, a variant of practisen, from Middle French pratiser, practiser, from Medieval Latin practizo, from Late Latin practico (“to do, perform, execute, propose, practise, exercise, be conversant with, contrive, conspire, etc.”), fro… The correct English form is practise, spelled P-R-A-C-T-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To repeat (an activity) as a way of improving one's skill in that activity.
  2. 2
    To repeat an activity in this way.
  3. 3
    To perform or observe in an habitual fashion.
  4. 4
    To pursue (a career, especially law, fine art or medicine).
  5. 5
    To conspire.
  6. 6
    To put into practice; to carry out; to act upon; to commit; to execute; to do.
  7. 7
    To make use of; to employ.
  8. 8
    To teach or accustom by practice; to train.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how practise appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You should practise playing piano every day.
  2. If you want to speak French well, you need to practise.

Etymology

From Middle English practizen, a variant of practisen, from Middle French pratiser, practiser, from Medieval Latin practizo, from Late Latin practico (“to do, perform, execute, propose, practise, exercise, be conversant with, contrive, conspire, etc.”), from prāctica (“practical affairs", "business”), from Ancient Greek πρᾱκτική (prāktikḗ), from πρᾱκτικός (prāktikós, “practical”), from πρᾱ́σσειν (prā́ssein, “to do”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per(h₂)- (“to go over, cross”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • parctise
  • ppractise
  • pracctise
  • pracitse
  • practies
  • practisse
  • practsie
  • practtise
  • pratcise
  • prcatise
  • prractise
  • rpactise

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of practise - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

parctise2ppractise1pracctise1pracitse2practies2practisse1practsie2practtise1
Edit distance from "practise"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "practise"?
"practise" is spelled P-R-A-C-T-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹæktɪs/.
What does "practise" mean?
As a verb, "practise" means: To repeat (an activity) as a way of improving one's skill in that activity.
What words are commonly confused with "practise"?
"practise" is commonly confused with "praise", "precise", "proactive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "practise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "practise" is /ˈpɹæktɪs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "practise"?
From Middle English practizen, a variant of practisen, from Middle French pratiser, practiser, from Medieval Latin practizo, from Late Latin practico (“to do, perform, execute, propose, practise, exercise, be conversant with, contrive, conspire, e... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "practise", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list