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# practical

«practical» in Mova's school dictionary: **to do with doing real things rather than only ideas or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (practical, more practical, most practical); adverb practically; noun (a practical — a science lesson where you do experiments, mainly UK)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Practical means to do with doing real things rather than only ideas or theory. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#m1)

2) A practical person is good at dealing with real problems and making things work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#m2)

3) A practical object or plan is useful and sensible. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#m3)

4) A practical is a lesson or exam where you do experiments or real tasks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

Science: a practical experiment or practical work means hands-on testing. Everyday life: practical shoes are comfortable and good for walking; a practical gift is useful. Maths: a practical problem uses real situations like money and measurements. Phrases: practical work, a practical joke (a trick played on someone), practical skills, for all practical purposes.

### examples

- We did a practical experiment with magnets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x1)
- Wear practical shoes for the hike. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x2)
- Grandma is very practical; she can fix anything. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x3)
- It isn't practical to walk ten miles to school. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x4)
- Our science practical is on Thursday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x5)
- Learning to cook is a practical skill. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x6)
- He played a practical joke on his sister. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x7)
- He was quite a practical boy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/#x8)

### note

«Practically» has two meanings: «in a practical way» and «almost» («The bottle is practically empty»). A «practical joke» is a trick, not a sensible joke. Spelling: practic-al, ending -al.

### In the corpora

- ["More practical than academic" means not good at school or books, but often good at doing things with the hands.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/36-dim-and-round-the-bend/10/)
- [Practical skills, such as tying shoelaces, are learned by practising slowly while an adult shows you step by step.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/260-learning-skills-and-coins/8/)
- [Grown-up feuds can be as silly as playground ones, and a simple practical fix can end them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/483-neighbours-who-dont-speak-and-the-friendly-shopkeeper/31/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «practical» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/practical/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.