'Practical' definitions:

Definition of 'practical'

(from WordNet)
adjective
Concerned with actual use or practice; "he is a very practical person"; "the idea had no practical application"; "a practical knowledge of Japanese"; "woodworking is a practical art" [ant: impractical]
adjective
Guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory; "a hardheaded appraisal of our position"; "a hard- nosed labor leader"; "completely practical in his approach to business"; "not ideology but pragmatic politics" [syn: hardheaded, hard-nosed, practical, pragmatic]
adjective
Being actually such in almost every respect; "a practical failure"; "the once elegant temple lay in virtual ruin" [syn: virtual(a), practical(a)]
adjective
Having or put to a practical purpose or use; "practical mathematics"; "practical applications of calculus"

Definition of 'Practical'

From: GCIDE
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Derived from practice; as, practical skill. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'practical'

From: Moby Thesaurus