Meanings
present singular third person practices what one preaches · participle present practicing what one preaches · participle past practiced what one preached · past practiced what one preached · alternative practise what one preaches
- USTo act in accordance with the advice and teachings one gives to others.
I'm a victim of the very song I sing, yeah / Why don't you practice what you preach? / That's what everybody keep tellin' me / They say, "My advice is good for others (ooh-ooh) / It's got to be good for me" / Can't you see?
1978, Candi Staton, “Victim”, in House of Love
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 說到做到 /说到做到, 言行一致
- 說到做到 /说到做到 (shuōdàozuòdào)act in harmony with one's teachings
- 言行一致 (yánxíngyízhì)act in harmony with one's teachings
- 身體力行 /身体力行 (shēntǐlìxíng)act in harmony with one's teachings
Finnish tehdä niin kuin sanoo
- tehdä niin kuin sanooact in harmony with one's teachings
French prêcher d’exemple, vivre ce que l'on prêche
- prêcher d’exempleact in harmony with one's teachings
- vivre ce que l'on prêcheact in harmony with one's teachings
Polish praktykuj, jak głosisz
- praktykuj, jak głosiszact in harmony with one's teachings
Russian слова не должны расходиться с делом
- слова не должны расходиться с делом (slova ne dolžny rasxoditʹsja s delom)act in harmony with one's teachings
Spanish predicar con el ejemplo
- predicar con el ejemploact in harmony with one's teachings
Swedish leva som man lär
- leva som man läract in harmony with one's teachings
Cite this entry
practice what one preaches. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/practice%20what%20one%20preaches
“practice what one preaches.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/practice%20what%20one%20preaches. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “practice what one preaches,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/practice%20what%20one%20preaches.
Source: practice what one preaches on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.