try

American  

[trahy] / traɪ /

verb (used with object)

tries, present (3rd person singular) tried, past participle, past trying present participle

1. to attempt to do or accomplish.

   Try it before you say it's simple.

2. to test the effect or result of (often followed byout ).

   to try a new method; to try a recipe out.

3. to endeavor to evaluate by experiment or experience.

   to try a new field; to try a new book.

4. to test the quality, value, fitness, accuracy, etc., of.

   Will you try a spoonful of this and tell me what you think of it?

5. Law. to examine and determine judicially, as a cause; determine judicially the guilt or innocence of (a person).

6. to put to a severe test; subject to strain, as of endurance, patience, affliction, or trouble; tax.

   to try one's patience.

7. to attempt to open (a door, window, etc.) in order to find out whether it is locked.

   Try all the doors before leaving.

8. to melt down (fat, blubber, etc.) to obtain the oil; render (usually followed byout ).

9. Archaic.

   1. to determine the truth or right of (a quarrel or question) by test or battle (sometimes followed byout ).

   2. to find to be right by test or experience.

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verb (used without object)

tries, present (3rd person singular) tried, past participle, past trying present participle

1. to make an attempt or effort; strive.

   Try to complete the examination.

2. Nautical. to lie to in heavy weather under just sufficient sail to head into the wind.

noun

tries plural

1. an attempt or effort.

   to have a try at something.

2. Rugby. a score of three points earned by advancing the ball to or beyond the opponents' goal line.

verb phrase

1. try on to put on an article of clothing in order to judge its appearance and fit.

   You can't really tell how it will look until you try it on.

2. try out for to compete for (a position, membership, etc.).

   Over a hundred boys came to try out for the football team.

3. try out to use experimentally; test.

   to try out a new car.

idioms

1. try it / that on,

   1. to put on airs.

      She's been trying it on ever since the inheritance came through.

   2. to be forward or presumptuous, especially with a potential romantic partner.

      She avoided him after he'd tried it on with her.

2. give it the old college try, to make a sincere effort.

   I gave it the old college try and finally found an apartment.

try British  

/ traɪ /

verb

1. to make an effort or attempt

   he tried to climb a cliff

2. to sample, test, or give experimental use to (something) in order to determine its quality, worth, etc

   try her cheese flan

3. (tr) to put strain or stress on

   he tries my patience

4. (tr; often passive) to give pain, affliction, or vexation to: I have been sorely tried by those children

5. 1. to examine and determine the issues involved in (a cause) in a court of law

   2. to hear evidence in order to determine the guilt or innocence of (an accused)

   3. to sit as judge at the trial of (an issue or person)

6. (tr) to melt (fat, lard, etc) in order to separate out impurities

7. obsolete to extract (a material) from an ore, mixture, etc, usually by heat; refine

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noun

1. an experiment or trial

2. an attempt or effort

3. rugby the act of an attacking player touching the ball down behind the opposing team's goal line, scoring five or, in Rugby League, four points

4. Also called: try for a point.  American football an attempt made after a touchdown to score an extra point by kicking a goal or, for two extra points, by running the ball or completing a pass across the opponents' goal line

try More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing try

• old college try
• tried

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Usage

Try followed by and instead of to has been in standard use since the 17th century: The Justice Department has decided to try and regulate jury-selection practices. The construction occurs only with the base form try, not with tries or tried or trying. Although some believe that try and is less formal than try to, both patterns occur in all types of speech and writing.

The use of and instead of to after try is very common, but should be avoided in formal writing: we must try to prevent (not try and prevent ) this happening

Synonym Usage

Try, attempt, endeavor, strive all mean to put forth an effort toward a specific end. Try is the most often used and most general term: to try to decipher a message; to try hard to succeed. Attempt, often interchangeable with try, sometimes suggests the possibility of failure and is often used in reference to more serious or important matters: to attempt to formulate a new theory of motion. Endeavor emphasizes serious and continued exertion of effort, sometimes aimed at dutiful or socially appropriate behavior: to endeavor to fulfill one's obligations. Strive, stresses persistent, vigorous, even strenuous effort, often in the face of obstacles: to strive to overcome a handicap.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• retry
  verb
• pretry
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tries
  plural

Participles

• trying
  present
• tried
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• try
  simple
• tries
  simple
• have tried
  perfect
• has tried
  perfect
• am trying
  progressive
• are trying
  progressive
• is trying
  progressive
• have been trying
  perfect progressive
• has been trying
  perfect progressive

Past

• tried
  simple
• had tried
  perfect
• was trying
  progressive
• were trying
  progressive
• had been trying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will try
  simple
• will have tried
  perfect
• will be trying
  progressive
• will have been trying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of try

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English trien “to try (a legal case),” from Anglo-French trier, Old French “to sift, cull”; of uncertain origin

Explanation

Try describes putting effort into something, like when you try to draw a horse, or take a sample of something, like when you try a new flavor of ice cream. Another meaning is of try is to put on trial — a prosecutor might try a defendant for theft. Try can also describe testing the limits of something, like when a bratty kid you are babysitting tries your patience. When you add an ending to try, you need to change the y to an i, as in tried and tries. When you add -ing, however, you keep the y to form trying.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

try tries tried trying

While experts try to lock in a diagnosis, the center reported she’s receiving several prophylactic treatments and they are “cautiously hopeful.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

The most noticeable change of Warsh’s first two months—one that required no task force or vote—surfaced when a senator used his five minutes of questioning to try, unsuccessfully, to pin Warsh down about his approach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

"I went straight in to try and swim – I couldn't. It kept on pushing me back," he added.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“We try to find stocks that have the potential to rerate higher.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Lafayette says, “Try to relax. And remember, all these events have already happened. You can’t change them. All you can do is try to understand them.”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

The Calamos team tries to identify companies at ideal stages of their growth cycles through “a combination of database screens, interaction of company management teams and studying sell-side analysts models and communicating with sell-side analysts.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

All eyes are on Taylor Farms and their contaminated lettuce, Trump tries a new tariff tactic, and Japan’s prime minister claims to barely sleep.

From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026

“The hardest thing that science and arguably humanity tries to do is to come up with breakthroughs and important new medicines,” Yancopoulos said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Gatwick's price hike comes as the airport tries to get more people arriving by trains and buses.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Seven tries this time, and then a fish dancing silver on the end of her line.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

The government quoted one woman with the pseudonym "Turtle" as saying she tried the app "as a last chance" as she approached her 40th birthday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

But advocates for immigrants said the change leaves asylum seekers who tried to follow the law vulnerable to deportation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The company tried three times to force a settlement through bankruptcy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The dating show, which is on its 13th UK series, has tried to keep viewers on their toes over the past eight weeks by bringing in 32 islanders.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The coyote who’d called Clare his “orange-coat brother” and tried to convince him to enter the Afterlife with him.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Athletic directors are back from vacation and will be busy trying to clear players who transferred.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Meta has said the litigation is trying to fix a sprawling societal issue with a patchwork of court rulings that, if successful, wouldn’t stop young people from using other types of social media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The government asserted that ICE was trying to locate a target when they approached three men, lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, at a bus stop in Pasadena, according to the motion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

"When that happens, the only thing we can do is be patient. They're trying to provoke a fight or create a confrontation. They want to see how long we'll tolerate it," Mohideen explained.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“Yes. It’s what I loved most about her. I always wanted to learn. Enslaved, I was forbidden to read or write. Free, I’m too busy working. Too tired trying to survive.”

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Related Words

• attack
• seek
• struggle
• work