Practice or practise: which spelling fits?

Practice and practise sound exactly the same when people speak. Because the pronunciation never changes, your ear cannot tell you which letter to write. You must look at the grammar of your sentence and know whether your audience prefers British or American spelling conventions.

A noun names a thing, an event, a regular habit, or a professional office. In English, nouns often follow words like the, a, an, or possessives like our and their. Whenever the word acts as a noun, both British English and American English spell it with a c.

Setting Up a Café: Which Opposite Fits?とEither or ither: which spelling is correct?でこれをもう一度練習できます。

When you write for readers in the United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand, verbs that describe training or rehearsing take an s. Look for a subject performing an action. If someone practises an instrument, a sport, or a language, British English requires the s spelling across every verb tense.

American English keeps things simple by using one spelling for every grammatical role. You do not need to check whether the word is a noun or a verb if you are writing for an American audience. Always use the letter c, whether you name a session or describe someone training.

Since speakers pronounce both forms the same way, you must listen for the surrounding words during conversations and dictations. Helping verbs like will, can, or should signal an upcoming verb. Articles like a or the, or words showing quantity like more, tell you that a noun follows.

If you struggle to remember the British difference, compare it to advice and advise. The word advice with a c is a noun, while advise with an s is a verb. Unlike practice, advice and advise sound different at the end, which helps you recall that c represents the noun and s represents the verb.

The most noticeable mistake in professional or academic writing is mixing varieties within the same piece of work. If you choose British spelling, remember to use practice for nouns and practise for verbs everywhere. If you choose American spelling, use practice consistently and never introduce an s.

Specialized phrases often use practice as a noun to describe a company, a profession, or an established social custom. A law firm or dental clinic is called a practice. An accepted way of working is known as good practice or best practice. Because these expressions are nouns, both varieties write practice with a c.