trial and error

American  

noun

1. experimentation or investigation in which various methods or means are tried and faulty ones eliminated in order to find the correct solution or to achieve the desired result or effect.

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trial and error British  

noun

1. a method of discovery, solving problems, etc, based on practical experiment and experience rather than on theory

   he learned to cook by trial and error

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trial and error Cultural  

1. To “proceed by trial and error” is to experiment, rejecting what does not work and adopting what does.

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trial and error Idioms  

1. An attempt to accomplish something by trying various means until the correct one is found. for example, The only way to solve this problem is by trial and error. The error here alludes to the failed means or attempts, which are discarded until the right way is found. [c. 1800]

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Other Word Forms

• trial-and-error adjective

Etymology

Origin of trial and error

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

This allows the system to plan more effectively and avoid unnecessary trial and error.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

Figuring out who and how you love takes trial and error, two things Andie and Blane both endure while trying to fit into each other’s respective worlds.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

“So a lot of trial and error and a lot of research, since it’s just the two of us.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

Instead of directly modeling their behavior, researchers use trial and error to come up with plausible values for key parameters—the rate at which clouds over the ocean turn to rain, say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

Still, Zhang Hemin and Huang Yan recognized that this first attempt would also be mostly trial and error.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh