Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Practical

Practical , adjective

[Latin practicus active, Greek {not transcribed} fit for doing or performing, practical, active, from {not transcribed} to do, work, effect: compare French pratique, formerly also practique. Compare Pragmatic, Practice.]

1.
Of or pertaining to practice or action.
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
3.
Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind.
4.
Derived from practice; as, practical skill.
Collocations (1)
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.