essay

American  

[es-ey, es-ey, e-sey, e-sey] / ˈɛs eɪ, ˈɛs eɪ, ɛˈseɪ, ɛˈseɪ /

noun

1. a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.

2. anything resembling such a composition.

   a picture essay.

3. an effort to perform or accomplish something; attempt.

4. Philately. a design for a proposed stamp differing in any way from the design of the stamp as issued.

5. Obsolete. a tentative effort; trial; assay.

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verb (used with object)

1. to try; attempt.

2. to put to the test; make trial of.

essay British  

noun

1. a short literary composition dealing with a subject analytically or speculatively

2. an attempt or endeavour; effort

3. a test or trial

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verb

1. to attempt or endeavour; try

2. to test or try out

essay Cultural  

1. A short piece of writing on one subject, usually presenting the author's own views. Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon (see also Bacon), and Ralph Waldo Emerson are celebrated for their essays.

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Other Word Forms

• essayer noun
• preessay verb (used without object)
• unessayed adjective
• well-essayed adjective

Etymology

Origin of essay

First recorded in 1475–85; from Middle French essayer, from Late Latin exagium “a weighing,” from exag(ere) (unrecorded) “to examine, test,” literally, “to drive out, thrust out” (from Latin exigere; exact ) + -ium -ium

Example Sentences

Not long ago, Amodei wrote an essay in which he agreed that AI was beneficial and necessary for democracies, but “we cannot ignore the potential for abuse of these technologies by democratic governments themselves.”

From Los Angeles Times

Mr. Willis published an essay, “Post-Mortuum Soiree,” in the next issue of his Home Journal, “the ‘demonstration,’ … is of sufficient extent and respectability to warrant grave attention.

From Literature

“Today, it’s impossible to get a publisher to buy such a book with essays by 25 men and no women,” he wrote.

From Salon

There are opinion pieces galore claiming Fennell “got it all wrong,” video essays asserting that the film is “the worst adaptation of all time” and that Fennell should “apologize to Emily Brontë.”

From Salon

One founder, John Loeber, penned his own essay in opposition, arguing that as AI challenges white-collar labor, governments will fund large-scale physical re-industrialization.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• article
• discussion
• dissertation
• manuscript
• paper
• piece
• study
• thesis
• treatise