Practice vs. Drill — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 1, 2024
Practice involves engaging in an activity repeatedly for improvement, focusing on broad skill development; drill is a specific, repetitive exercise aimed at ingraining a particular skill or response.
Difference Between Practice and Drill
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Practice is a comprehensive approach to learning or improving in a particular field or activity by repeatedly performing or engaging in it. This process focuses on overall skill enhancement and understanding. Whereas drill is more focused, involving specific, repetitive exercises designed to instill a particular skill or response quickly and efficiently. Drills are often used in contexts where immediate recall or reaction is crucial, such as in sports or military training.
In practice sessions, the emphasis is on exploring different aspects of an activity, allowing for creativity and the application of various techniques. This method is beneficial for holistic development, fostering a deeper understanding and versatility. On the other hand, drills are highly structured and focus on repetition of the same action or set of actions, aiming to make a specific response automatic or second nature.
Practice can be self-guided or facilitated by instructors, providing flexibility in approach and pacing according to individual needs and goals. It often incorporates feedback and reflection, enabling learners to identify areas of improvement and adjust their methods. Whereas drills, due to their repetitive nature, may require less immediate oversight once the procedure is understood, focusing instead on endurance, speed, or precision.
While practice encompasses a broad range of activities and can be adapted to suit varying levels of proficiency and aspects of a skill, drills are typically more narrowly defined. They target specific areas for improvement and are repeated until the desired level of proficiency is achieved without significant variation in the task.
Practice offers a broad, flexible approach to skill development, emphasizing understanding and adaptability. Drills provide a focused, repetitive method aimed at perfecting a specific skill or response, often under conditions where rapidity and accuracy are paramount.
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Comparison Chart
Focus
Broad skill development
Specific skill or response
Approach
Varied and creative
Repetitive and structured
Goal
Overall improvement and understanding
Quick instillation of a specific skill
Flexibility
High, adaptable to individual needs
Low, focused on repetition of the same task
Application
General learning, exploring different techniques
Situations requiring immediate recall or reaction
Compare with Definitions
Practice
The customary, habitual, or expected procedure of something.
The practice of tipping varies from country to country.
Drill
An activity done as an exercise or test.
The school conducts earthquake drills several times a year.
Practice
Work or business of a professional practitioner.
He built up a successful dental practice over the years.
Drill
A method of teaching or training involving repeated exercises.
Fire safety drills ensure everyone knows what to do in an emergency.
Practice
Engagement in an activity repeatedly for improvement.
She practices piano every day to enhance her skills.
Drill
A tool or implement for making holes.
She used a drill to hang the picture frame.
Practice
The application or use of an idea, belief, or method.
The practice of meditation has grown in popularity.
Drill
A precise pattern of movements practiced repeatedly.
The basketball team worked on their passing drill.
Practice
The act of rehearsing a behavior over time to learn or improve.
The team's practice sessions before the game paid off.
Drill
Military training exercises.
The recruits went through rigorous drills to prepare for service.
Practice
The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it
The principles and practice of teaching
The recommendations proved too expensive to put into practice
Drill
A drill or drilling machine is a tool primarily used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driver, depending on application, secured by a chuck.
Practice
The customary, habitual, or expected procedure or way of doing of something
Modern child-rearing practices
Product placement is common practice in American movies
Drill
A tool or machine with a rotating cutting tip or reciprocating hammer or chisel, used for making holes.
Practice
Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it
It must have taken a lot of practice to become so fluent
Drill
Instruction or training in military exercises
Parade-ground drill
Practice
US spelling of practise
Drill
A predatory mollusc that bores into the shells of other molluscs in order to feed on the soft tissue.
Practice
To do or perform habitually or customarily; make a habit of
Practices courtesy in social situations.
Drill
A machine which makes small furrows, sows seed in them, and then covers the seed with earth.
Practice
To do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill
Practice a dance step.
Drill
A dark brown baboon with a short tail and a naked blue or purple rump, found in the rainforests of West Africa.
Practice
To give lessons or repeated instructions to; drill
Practiced the students in handwriting.
Drill
A coarse twilled cotton or linen fabric
Top quality cotton drill with reinforced seams
Sturdy clothes in drill, denim and linen
Practice
To work at, especially as a profession
Practice law.
Drill
Produce (a hole) in something by or as if by boring with a drill
Drill holes through the tiles for the masonry pins
Practice
To carry out in action; observe
Practices a religion piously.
Drill
Subject (someone) to military training exercises
A sergeant was drilling new recruits
Practice
(Obsolete) To plot (something evil).
Drill
Sow (seed) with a drill
Crops drilled in autumn
Practice
To do something repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill
With any musical instrument, you need to practice to get better.
Drill
An implement with cutting edges or a pointed end for boring holes in hard materials, usually by a rotating abrasion or repeated blows; a bit.
Practice
To work at a profession
How long has that lawyer been practicing?.
Drill
The hand-operated or hand-powered holder for this implement.
Practice
To do or perform something habitually or repeatedly
Why not practice in the same manner that you preach?.
Drill
A loud, harsh noise made by or as if by a powered tool of this kind.
Practice
(Archaic) To intrigue or plot.
Drill
Disciplined, repetitious exercise as a means of teaching and perfecting a skill or procedure.
Practice
A habitual or customary action or way of doing something
Makes a practice of being punctual.
Drill
A task or exercise for teaching a skill or procedure by repetition
Conducted an air-raid drill.
A drill for learning the multiplication tables.
Practice
Repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill
Practice will make you a good musician.
Drill
The training of soldiers in marching and the manual of arms.
Practice
A session of preparation or performance undertaken to acquire or polish a skill
Goes to piano practice weekly.
Scheduled a soccer practice for Saturday.
Drill
Any of various marine gastropod mollusks, chiefly of the genus Urosalpinx, that bore holes into the shells of bivalve mollusks. U. cinera is destructive to oysters.
Practice
(Archaic) The skill so learned or perfected.
Drill
A shallow trench or furrow in which seeds are planted.
Practice
The condition of being skilled through repeated exercise
Out of practice.
Drill
A row of planted seeds.
Practice
The act or process of doing something; performance or action
A theory that is difficult to put into practice.
Drill
A machine or implement for planting seeds in holes or furrows.
Practice
Exercise of an occupation or profession
The practice of law.
Drill
Durable cotton or linen twill of varying weights, generally used for work clothes.
Practice
The business of a professional person
An obstetrician with her own practice.
Drill
A large monkey (Mandrillus leucophaeus) of west-central African forests, having an olive brown body and a brightly colored face and resembling the mandrill.
Practice
A habitual or customary action or act
That company engages in questionable business practices. Facial tattooing is a standard practice among certain peoples.
Drill
To make a hole in (a hard material) with a drill
A bit for drilling masonry.
Practice
(Law) The procedure for trial of cases in a court of law, usually specified by rules.
Drill
To make (a hole) with or as if with a drill
Drills holes in trees with its chisellike bill.
Practice
The act of tricking or scheming, especially with malicious intent.
Drill
To strike or hit sharply
The batter drilled a single through the infield.
Practice
A trick, scheme, or intrigue.
Drill
To instruct thoroughly by repetition in a skill or procedure
Drill pupils in grammar.
Practice
Repetition of an activity to improve a skill.
He will need lots of practice with the lines before he performs them.
Drill
To infuse knowledge of or skill in by repetitious instruction
Drilled the correct spellings into the students' heads.
Practice
An organized event for the purpose of performing such repetition.
Being on a team is hard: you're always having to go to practice while everyone else is taking it easy.
I have choir practice every Sunday after church.
Drill
To train (soldiers) in marching and the manual of arms.
Practice
The ongoing pursuit of a craft or profession, particularly in medicine or the fine arts.
Drill
To make a hole with or as if with a drill.
Practice
(countable) A place where a professional service is provided, such as a general practice.
She ran a thriving medical practice.
Drill
To perform a training exercise.
Practice
The observance of religious duties that a church requires of its members.
Drill
To sow (seeds) in rows.
Practice
A customary action, habit, or behaviour; a manner or routine.
It is the usual practice of employees there to wear neckties only when meeting with customers.
It is good practice to check each door and window before leaving.
Drill
To plant (a field) in drills.
Practice
Actual operation or experiment, in contrast to theory.
That may work in theory, but will it work in practice?
Drill
(transitive) To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill tool.
Drill a small hole to start the screw in the right direction.
Practice
(legal) The form, manner, and order of conducting and carrying on suits and prosecutions through their various stages, according to the principles of law and the rules laid down by the courts.
This firm of solicitors is involved in family law practice.
Drill
(intransitive) To practice, especially in (or as in) a military context.
They drilled daily to learn the routine exactly.
Practice
Skilful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; stratagem; artifice.
Drill
(ergative) To cause to drill practice; to train in military arts.
The sergeant was up by 6:00 every morning, drilling his troops.
Practice
(math) A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business.
Drill
(transitive) To repeat an idea frequently in order to encourage someone to remember it.
The instructor drilled into us the importance of reading the instructions.
Practice
(US) practise
Drill
To investigate or examine something in more detail or at a different level
Drill deeper and you may find the underlying assumptions faulty.
Practice
Frequently repeated or customary action; habitual performance; a succession of acts of a similar kind; usage; habit; custom; as, the practice of rising early; the practice of making regular entries of accounts; the practice of daily exercise.
A heart . . . exercised with covetous practices.
Drill
(transitive) To hit or kick with a lot of power.
Practice
Customary or constant use; state of being used.
Obsolete words may be revived when they are more sounding or more significant than those in practice.
Drill
(baseball) To hit someone with a pitch, especially in an intentional context.
Practice
Skill or dexterity acquired by use; expertness.
Drill
(slang) To shoot; to kill.
Practice
Actual performance; application of knowledge; - opposed to theory.
There are two functions of the soul, - contemplation and practice.
There is a distinction, but no opposition, between theory and practice; each, to a certain extent, supposes the other; theory is dependent on practice; practice must have preceded theory.
Drill
(transitive) To sow (seeds) by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row.
Practice
Systematic exercise for instruction or discipline; as, the troops are called out for practice; she neglected practice in music.
Drill
(transitive) To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling.
Waters drilled through a sandy stratum
Practice
Application of science to the wants of men; the exercise of any profession; professional business; as, the practice of medicine or law; a large or lucrative practice.
Practice is exercise of an art, or the application of a science in life, which application is itself an art.
Drill
To protract, lengthen out; fritter away, spend (time) aimlessly.
Quit purposely drilling out the time hoping that someone else will do your chores.
Practice
Skillful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; art; stratagem; artifice; plot; - usually in a bad sense.
He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer.
Drill
To entice or allure; to decoy; with on.
Practice
A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business.
Drill
To cause to slip or waste away by degrees.
Practice
The form, manner, and order of conducting and carrying on suits and prosecutions through their various stages, according to the principles of law and the rules laid down by the courts.
Drill
A tool used to remove material so as to create a hole, typically by plunging a rotating cutting bit into a stationary workpiece.
Wear safety glasses when operating an electric drill.
Practice
To do or perform frequently, customarily, or habitually; to make a practice of; as, to practice gaming.
Drill
The portion of a drilling tool that drives the bit.
Use a drill with a wire brush to remove any rust or buildup.
Practice
To exercise, or follow, as a profession, trade, art, etc., as, to practice law or medicine.
Drill
An activity done as an exercise or practice (especially a military exercise), particularly in preparation for some possible future event or occurrence.
Regular fire drills can ensure that everyone knows how to exit safely in an emergency.
Practice
To exercise one's self in, for instruction or improvement, or to acquire discipline or dexterity; as, to practice gunnery; to practice music.
Drill
A short and highly repeatable sports training exercise designed to hone a particular skill that may be useful in competition.
Practice
To put into practice; to carry out; to act upon; to commit; to execute; to do.
As this advice ye practice or neglect.
Drill
Any of several molluscs, of the genus Urosalpinx, especially the oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea), that drill holes in the shells of other animals.
Practice
To make use of; to employ.
In malice to this good knight's wife, I practiced Ubaldo and Ricardo to corrupt her.
Drill
A style of trap music with gritty, violent lyrics, originating on the South Side of Chicago.
Practice
To teach or accustom by practice; to train.
In church they are taught to love God; after church they are practiced to love their neighbor.
Drill
An agricultural implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
Practice
To perform certain acts frequently or customarily, either for instruction, profit, or amusement; as, to practice with the broadsword or with the rifle; to practice on the piano.
Drill
A light furrow or channel made to put seed into, when sowing.
Practice
To learn by practice; to form a habit.
They shall practice how to live secure.
Practice first over yourself to reign.
Drill
A row of seed sown in a furrow.
Practice
To try artifices or stratagems.
He will practice against thee by poison.
Drill
(obsolete) A small trickling stream; a rill.
Practice
To apply theoretical science or knowledge, esp. by way of experiment; to exercise or pursue an employment or profession, esp. that of medicine or of law.
[I am] little inclined to practice on others, and as little that others should practice on me.
Drill
An Old World monkey of West Africa, Mandrillus leucophaeus, similar in appearance to the mandrill, but lacking the colorful face.
Practice
A customary way of operation or behavior;
It is their practice to give annual raises
They changed their dietary pattern
Drill
A strong, durable cotton fabric with a strong bias (diagonal) in the weave.
Practice
Systematic training by multiple repetitions;
Practice makes perfect
Drill
To pierce or bore with a drill, or a with a drill; to perforate; as, to drill a hole into a rock; to drill a piece of metal.
Practice
Translating an idea into action;
A hard theory to put into practice
Differences between theory and praxis of communism
Drill
To train in the military art; to exercise diligently, as soldiers, in military evolutions and exercises; hence, to instruct thoroughly in the rudiments of any art or branch of knowledge; to discipline.
He [Frederic the Great] drilled his people, as he drilled his grenadiers.
Practice
The exercise of a profession;
The practice of the law
I took over his practice when he retired
Drill
To practice an exercise or exercises; to train one's self.
Practice
Knowledge of how something is usually done;
It is not the local practice to wear shorts to dinner
Drill
To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling; as, waters drilled through a sandy stratum.
Practice
Learn by repetition;
We drilled French verbs every day
Pianists practice scales
Drill
To sow, as seeds, by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row, like a trickling rill of water.
Practice
Avail oneself to;
Apply a principle
Practice a religion
Use care when going down the stairs
Use your common sense
Practice non-violent resistance
Drill
To entice; to allure from step; to decoy; - with on.
See drilled him on to five-fifty.
Practice
Carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions;
Practice law
Drill
To cause to slip or waste away by degrees.
This accident hath drilled away the whole summer.
Practice
Engage in a rehearsal (of)
Drill
To trickle.
Drill
To sow in drills.
Drill
An instrument with an edged or pointed end used for making holes in hard substances; strictly, a tool that cuts with its end, by revolving, as in drilling metals, or by a succession of blows, as in drilling stone; also, a drill press.
Drill
The act or exercise of training soldiers in the military art, as in the manual of arms, in the execution of evolutions, and the like; hence, diligent and strict instruction and exercise in the rudiments and methods of any business; a kind or method of military exercises; as, infantry drill; battalion drill; artillery drill.
Drill
Any exercise, physical or mental, enforced with regularity and by constant repetition; as, a severe drill in Latin grammar.
Drill
A marine gastropod, of several species, which kills oysters and other bivalves by drilling holes through the shell. The most destructive kind is Urosalpinx cinerea.
Drill
A small trickling stream; a rill.
Springs through the pleasant meadows pour their drills.
Drill
An implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
Drill
A large African baboon (Cynocephalus leucophæus).
Drill
Same as Drilling.
Drill
A tool with a sharp point and cutting edges for making holes in hard materials (usually rotating rapidly or by repeated blows)
Drill
Similar to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored
Drill
Systematic training by multiple repetitions;
Practice makes perfect
Drill
(military) the training of soldiers to march (as in ceremonial parades) or to perform the manual of arms
Drill
Make a hole with a pointed power or hand tool;
Don't drill here, there's a gas pipe
Drill a hole into the wall
Drill for oil
Drill
Train in the military, e.g., in the use of weapons
Drill
Learn by repetition;
We drilled French verbs every day
Pianists practice scales
Drill
Teach by repetition
Drill
Undergo military training or do military exercises
Common Curiosities
What is the main goal of practice?
The main goal of practice is overall improvement and mastery of a skill or activity through repeated engagement.
Can drills be part of a practice session?
Yes, drills can be incorporated into practice sessions as a way to focus on and improve specific aspects of a skill.
Why is repetition important in drills?
Repetition in drills is important to make a specific response or action automatic, enhancing speed, precision, and recall.
Is it possible to practice without a specific goal?
While practice is more effective with specific goals, engaging in an activity for enjoyment or exploration also constitutes practice.
How does feedback play a role in practice?
Feedback is crucial in practice as it helps identify areas of improvement, allowing for adjustments and better learning outcomes.
How often should one practice to see improvement?
The frequency of practice depends on the individual and the skill, but regular, consistent practice is key to improvement.
How does a drill differ from general practice?
Drills focus on specific, repetitive exercises to instill a particular skill or response quickly and efficiently, while general practice aims at broader skill development.
Why might someone prefer drills over general practice?
Someone might prefer drills for their ability to rapidly instill specific skills or responses, especially in time-sensitive or high-stakes situations.
Do drills require special equipment?
Some drills may require special equipment, especially in sports or military training, to simulate specific conditions or actions.
How important is variety in practice?
Variety in practice can prevent boredom, enhance motivation, and ensure a well-rounded skill set by covering multiple aspects of a skill.
Can drills be enjoyable?
While drills are repetitive, finding enjoyment in the challenge and improvement they bring can make them enjoyable.
Can practice be counterproductive?
If not done correctly, practice can reinforce bad habits or techniques, making it counterproductive.
Are there digital tools to aid in practice and drills?
Yes, there are many digital tools and apps designed to aid in both practice and drills across various skills and disciplines.
How do beginners' practice needs differ from those of advanced learners?
Beginners may focus more on understanding basics and building foundational skills, while advanced learners might focus on refinement and complexity.
What role does patience play in practice and drills?
Patience is crucial in both practice and drills, as improvement often takes time and consistent effort.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
