practices

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of practice.

   The committee reviewed the company's hiring practices.

   Ancient burial practices reveal a great deal about early societies.

   Note

   A plural that changes what the word counts. Most senses of practice are usually uncountable: you get more practice, not more practices. So the plural tends to name separate customs, habits or methods, as in hiring practices and burial practices. It can also count places where a professional service is provided, so a town may have several medical practices.

2. 2
   verbUS

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of practice.

   The team practices on the field twice a week.

   She practices medicine at a rural hospital.

   Note

   Spelling is the thing to watch with this form. The -ice verb is the American spelling. British English usually writes she practises and keeps practice for the noun. In American usage, the verb and the noun plural therefore look identical (the team practices, the team's practices), and only the grammar of the sentence tells them apart.

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