Meaning & use
practice what you preach
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiom
To behave in the way you tell other people they should behave.
Grammar: The verb changes with tense and person: she practices what she preaches.
Patterns
- practice what you preach
- fail to practice what you preach
A good manager practices what she preaches and arrives on time.
You tell us to eat healthily, so please practice what you preach.
He lectured us about recycling but never practiced what he preached.
Word forms
| third person singular | practices what he preaches |
|---|---|
| past tense | practiced what he preached |
Common combinations
- fail to practice what you preach
- Leaders who fail to practice what they preach lose trust.
- expect others to practice what you preach
- It is unfair to expect others to practice what you preach if you do not.
- teacher who practices what he preaches
- He is a teacher who practices what he preaches.
- try to practice what you preach
- I try to practice what I preach about patience.
Synonyms and how they differ
- walk the walk
- Walk the walk is more informal and often paired with talk the talk.
- lead by example
- Lead by example stresses setting a model for others, while practice what you preach stresses consistency with your own advice.
- set an example
- Set an example is more general and does not imply earlier advice.
- be consistent
- Be consistent is neutral and does not involve the preaching image.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: practice what you preach or practise?
practice what you preach vs practise
Practise is the British verb spelling; practice is the noun in British English and both noun and verb in American English.
Practice
A father tells his children not to shout but shouts at them. What should he do?
Choose one answer.
Practice what you preach means to act as you advise others. The other idioms do not fit the situation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “practice what you preach”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.