practical
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 →
2) A practical person is good at dealing with real problems and making things work. tree →
3) A practical object or plan is useful and sensible. tree →
4) A practical is a lesson or exam where you do experiments or real tasks. tree →
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 →
- Wear practical shoes for the hike. tree →
- Grandma is very practical; she can fix anything. tree →
- It isn't practical to walk ten miles to school. tree →
- Our science practical is on Thursday. tree →
- Learning to cook is a practical skill. tree →
- He played a practical joke on his sister. tree →
- He was quite a practical boy. tree →
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.
- Practical skills, such as tying shoelaces, are learned by practising slowly while an adult shows you step by step.
- Grown-up feuds can be as silly as playground ones, and a simple practical fix can end them.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «practical» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.