practical

adjective prac·ti·cal \ ˈprak-ti-kəl \

Definition of practical

1 a :of, relating to, or manifested in practice or action :not theoretical or ideal

a practical question

for all practical purposes

b :being such in practice or effect :virtual

a practical failure

2 :actively engaged in some course of action or occupation

a practical farmer

3 :capable of being put to use or account :useful

he had a practical knowledge of French

4 a :disposed to action as opposed to speculation or abstraction

b (1) :qualified by practice or practical training

a good practical mechanic

(2) :designed to supplement theoretical training by experience

5 :concerned with voluntary action and ethical decisions

practical reason

—

practicality

play \ˌprak-ti-ˈka-lə-tē\ noun

—

practicalness

play \ˈprak-ti-kəl-nəs\ noun

See practical defined for English-language learners

See practical defined for kids

Examples of practical in a Sentence

We can speculate about the future, but on a more practical level, we have to admit that we simply don't know what will happen.
An engineer will address the design's practical problems.
She has a lot of practical experience in dealing with these kinds of problems.
practical solutions to complicated problems
He thinks wind can be a practical source of renewable energy.
The machine is too big to be practical for most private homes.
The shoes are nice, but they're not very practical.
The book is a practical guide to car care.
He gave me some practical advice on finding a job.

Recent Examples of practical from the Web

At stake was whether Melania’s look — slim black pants, face-framing blowout, green silk bomber, mirrored aviators, and sky-high snakeskin stilettos — was appropriately sober and practical for communing with victims of biblical-level flooding.

— rhonda garelick, The Cut, "Melania Trump and the Chilling Artifice of Fashion," 30 Aug. 2017
AMIT also offers at-risk youth numerous courses and programs that teach practical and needed vocational skills, so students are prepared to play important roles in the automotive, mechanical, electrical and other growth industries.

— randall p. lieberman, Jewish Journal, "Boynton Judaica artist to lead workshop for Israeli charity," 30 Aug. 2017
The reasons are geostrategic, but also quite practical.

— stephan haggard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "What is North Korea's goal with missile tests? Perhaps not what you think," 29 Aug. 2017
His practical, sincere, and kind-hearted leadership will be truly missed.

— kristin rodine, cynthia sewell and sven berg, idahostatesman, "‘The entire American West bears the imprint of Cecil Andrus’," 25 Aug. 2017
In elegant prose, stitched with stories from his Vietnamese homeland, his travels and his years in Paris, Hanh lays out wisdom that flows seamlessly from the poignant to the practical.

— barbara mahany, chicagotribune.com, "James Martin's controversial 'Building a Bridge' leads this week's spiritual roundup," 22 Aug. 2017
There are plenty of purely political and practical reasons why Ryan would want to take it easy on Trump.

— russell berman, The Atlantic, "Paul Ryan Doesn't Want to Fight With Trump," 22 Aug. 2017
Over the past decade there have been many arguments for the practical value of natural history collections.

— steven lubar, Smithsonian, "A Scholar Follows a Trail of Dead Mice and Discovers a Lesson in Why Museum Collections Matter," 10 Aug. 2017
Getting your kitchen in order is simply a matter of being practical and realistic, says Vicky Silverthorn, a professional declutterer whose mission is to help people create more relaxing and orderly living spaces.

— sophie hines, House Beautiful, "6 Golden Rules for Decluttering Your Kitchen," 31 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'practical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of practical

Middle English, from Late Latin practicus, from Greek praktikos, from prassein to pass over, fare, do; akin to Greek peran to pass through — more at fare

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year