The DICT Development Group

  Practical \Prac"ti*cal\, a. [L. practicus active, Gr. ? fit for
     doing or performing, practical, active, fr. ? to do, work,
     effect: cf. F. pratique, formerly also practique. Cf.
     Pragmatic, Practice.]
     1. Of or pertaining to practice or action.
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     2. Capable of being turned to use or account; useful, in
        distinction from ideal or theoretical; as, practical
        chemistry. "Man's practical understanding." --South. "For
        all practical purposes." --Macaulay.
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     3. Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge
        to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind.
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     4. Derived from practice; as, practical skill.
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     Practical joke, a joke put in practice; a joke the fun of
        which consists in something done, in distinction from
        something said; esp., a trick played upon a person.
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