Practice or practise: which is correct?
Correct
practice (noun; also the verb in US English) / practise (verb, UK English)
Avoid
practise (as the noun in UK English)
Avoid
practise (any use, in US English)
Summary
Correct: practice (noun; also the verb in US English) / practise (verb, UK English) — Avoid: practise (as the noun in UK English) / practise (any use, in US English). Practice = repeated exercise of a skill, or a customary way of doing something; in British English the verb is spelled practise, in American English practice serves as both.
Both spellings are correct in their own variety; pick one and use it consistently.
- Part of speech
- noun / verb
- Source
- Oxford / Merriam-Webster
Why
Oxford: British English keeps practice for the noun and practise for the verb, following the advice/advise pattern; Merriam-Webster gives practice for both the noun and the verb in American English and lists practise as a chiefly British variant.
Examples
- She needs more practice before the recital.
- They practise (UK) / practice (US) every evening.
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- Checked against
- Merriam-Webster / Oxford
- Spelling authority
- Merriam-Webster · Oxford English Dictionary / Oxford spelling · SCOWL
- Commonly confused and non-standard forms
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- Dictionary
- Hunspell en_US / en_GB / en_AU / en_CA · Dictionary license: MIT AND BSD (SCOWL combined licence)