The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word APPLIED
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
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More clues leading to the result APPLIED
- Practical computer program gave a false answer
- Put to practical use, program wasn’t accurate
- Practical program deliberately gave wrong answer
- Ace song employs two pianos put to practical use
- A page worked in practical
- Tinder, maybe, wasn’t reliable or practical
- Directed song with a gentle piano introduction
- Assigned practical was relevant
- Used source of iodine in fruit on daughter
- I may cut into fruit Penny laid on
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Practical" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case practical = applied.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does APPLIED mean?
APPLIED adjective- Put into practical use.
- Of a branch of science, serving another branch of science or engineering.
- To lay or place; to put (one thing to another)
- To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case
- To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable, fitting, or relative
- To put closely; to join; to engage and employ diligently, or with attention
- To to address; to refer; generally used reflexively.
- To submit oneself as a candidate (with the adposition "to" designating the recipient of the submission, and the adposition "for" designating the position).
- To pertain or be relevant to a specified individual or group.
- To busy; to keep at work; to ply.
- To visit.