boilerplate vs practical

boilerplate

adj
  • Describing text or other material of a standard or routine nature. 

  • Used to refer to a non-functional spacecraft used to test configuration and procedures. 

noun
  • A sheet of copper or steel used in the construction of a boiler. 

  • Syndicated material. 

  • The rating plate or nameplate required to be affixed to a boiler by the Boiler Explosions Act (1882). 

  • Standard text or program code used routinely and added with a text editor or word processor; text of a legal or official nature added to documents or labels. 

  • Hard, icy snow which may be dangerous to ski on. 

  • Formulaic or hackneyed language. 

  • A plate attached to industrial machinery, identifying information such as manufacturer, model number, serial number, and power requirements. 

verb
  • To store (standard text) so that it can easily be retrieved for reuse. 

practical

adj
  • Of a prop: having some degree of functionality, rather than being a mere imitation. 

  • Light fixtures used for set lighting and seen in the frame of a shot as part of the scenery. 

  • Being likely to be effective and applicable to a real situation; able to be put to use. 

  • Of a person, having skills or knowledge that are practical. 

  • Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis. 

noun
  • A prop that has some degree of functionality, rather than being a mere imitation. 

  • A light fixture used for set lighting and seen in the frame of a shot as part of the scenery. 

  • A part of an exam or series of exams in which the candidate has to demonstrate their practical ability 

  • Laboratory experiment, test or investigation 

How often have the words boilerplate and practical occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )