What does practical mean?

Definitions for practical
ˈpræk tɪ kəlprac·ti·cal

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word practical.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. practicaladjective

    concerned with actual use or practice

    "he is a very practical person"; "the idea had no practical application"; "a practical knowledge of Japanese"; "woodworking is a practical art"

  2. hardheaded, hard-nosed, practical, pragmaticadjective

    guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory

    "a hardheaded appraisal of our position"; "a hard-nosed labor leader"; "completely practical in his approach to business"; "not ideology but pragmatic politics"

  3. virtual(a), practical(a)adjective

    being actually such in almost every respect

    "a practical failure"; "the once elegant temple lay in virtual ruin"

  4. practicaladjective

    having or put to a practical purpose or use

    "practical mathematics"; "practical applications of calculus"

Wiktionary

  1. practicalnoun

    that part of an exam or series of exams in which the candidate has to demonstrate their practical ability

  2. practicaladjective

    Based on practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis

    Jack didn't get an engineering degree, but has practical knowledge of metalworking.

  3. practicaladjective

    Being likely to be effective and applicable to a real situation; able to be put to use

    Jack's knowledge has the practical benefit of giving us useful prototype parts.

  4. practicaladjective

    Of a person, having skills or knowledge that are practical

    All in all, Jack's a very practical chap

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Practicaladjective

    Relating to action; not merely speculative.

    Etymology: practicus, Lat. pratique, Fr. from practice.

    The image of God was no less resplendent in man’s practical understanding; namely, that storehouse of the soul, in which are treasured up the rules of action and the seeds of morality. Robert South, Sermons.

    Religion comprehends the knowledge of its principles, and a suitable life and practice; the first, being speculative, may be called knowledge; and the latter, because ’tis practical, wisdom. John Tillotson, Sermons.

Wikipedia

  1. practical

    Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics—such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science—are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes. Pragmatism began in the United States in the 1870s. Its origins are often attributed to the philosophers Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. In 1878, Peirce described it in his pragmatic maxim: "Consider the practical effects of the objects of your conception. Then, your conception of those effects is the whole of your conception of the object."

ChatGPT

  1. practical

    Practical refers to something that is focused on actual use or practice, rather than being abstract or theoretical. It involves or is concerned with actual application, use, or action. It is also often associated with ideas, methods, activities, etc. that are sensible, realistic, useful or effective in real situations.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Practicaladjective

    of or pertaining to practice or action

  2. Practicaladjective

    capable of being turned to use or account; useful, in distinction from ideal or theoretical; as, practical chemistry

  3. Practicaladjective

    evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind

  4. Practicaladjective

    derived from practice; as, practical skill

  5. Etymology: [L. practicus active, Gr. fit for doing or performing, practical, active, fr. to do, work, effect: cf. F. pratique, formerly also practique. Cf. Pragmatic, Practice.]

Editors Contribution

  1. practical

    The act and fact of being accurate, effective, logical and suitable for a specific purpose.

    She is always so practical in her interpretation, design and codification.


    Submitted by MaryC on February 20, 2020  

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'practical' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1323

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'practical' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2296

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'practical' in Adjectives Frequency: #159

How to pronounce practical?

How to say practical in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of practical in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of practical in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of practical in a Sentence

  1. Tanya Plibersek:

    The previous government's funding cuts held back business, they damaged the economy, and they undermined practical efforts to protect our environment.

  2. Paul Steele:

    I'm more optimistic now than I've ever been that there will be an agreement next year, iCAO's States have every intention of delivering a practical (market-based measure) proposal to next year's Assembly.

  3. Molly Meegan:

    They can’t be applied in a medical situation. They just aren’t practical, they have an ethical and personal duty to their patients to do what is best for their patients. It can at times be in direct conflict with whatever the laws are, especially if they’re vague, and most of the ob/gyns throughout the country, including in Oklahoma, are in an impossible situation.

  4. Richard Vautrey:

    We were only told in the last day that we are expected, next Monday, to re-change all of the appointments that we made for next week... it was simply not practical for our practice staff to do that in such a short space of time, we wanted the commitments that we made to our elderly patients to give their vaccine to be honored, certainly in the next few days.

  5. Susan Gordon:

    If I were to take my experience and offer conjecture, it would be practical, i need Russia.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

practical#1#2735#10000

Translations for practical

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for practical »

Translation

Find a translation for the practical definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"practical." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/practical>.

Discuss these practical definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for practical? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    practical

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    soft creamy candy
    A blur
    B fudge
    C attend
    D disturb

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for practical: