Practically means almost, very nearly, or just about. When your mom says you've practically finished your homework, you still have a bit left to do, but you're so close to done that it barely matters. If you've read practically every book in the library's mystery section, you've read most of them, though maybe not literally every single one.

The word also means in a practical way, focusing on what actually works in real situations. When your teacher explains something practically, she shows you how to use it in real life with concrete examples and applications. A practically minded person thinks about real-world solutions and considers what will actually work in practice.

Notice how the same word can mean “almost” in one sentence and “in a useful way” in another. The context tells you which meaning applies. If someone says “I'm practically done with dinner,” they mean almost. If they say “Let's think about this practically,” they mean let's be realistic and focus on what will actually work.