attempt

American  

[uh-tempt] / əˈtɛmpt /

verb (used with object)

• attempts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• attempted,
  past participle,  past
• attempting
  present participle

1. to make an effort at; try; undertake; seek.

   to attempt an impossible task; to attempt to walk six miles.

2. Archaic. to attack; move against in a hostile manner.

   to attempt a person's life.

3. Archaic. to tempt.

---

noun

• attempts
  plural

1. an effort made to accomplish something.

   He made an attempt to swim across the lake.

   Synonyms:

   endeavor, try

2. an attack or assault.

   an attempt upon the leader's life.

attempt British  

/ əˈtɛmpt /

verb

1. to make an effort (to do something) or to achieve (something); try

2. to try to surmount (an obstacle)

3. to try to climb

   they will attempt the north wall of the Eiger

4. archaic to attack

5. archaic to tempt

---

noun

1. an endeavour to achieve something; effort

2. a result of an attempt or endeavour

3. an attack, esp with the intention to kill

   an attempt on his life

Usage

What does attempt mean? An attempt is an effort made to complete a task, as in My attempt to go to the concert failed when my car broke down. To attempt means to try to complete a task, as in When Riddhi attempted to run to better her health, she found that she really enjoyed it too. When you attempt something, you are making some kind of effort, whether or not you succeed. To attempt is to try. Example: Louise attempted to make bread, but she forgot to add yeast to the recipe.

Synonym Usage

See try.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• attemptability
  noun
• attempter
  noun
• quasi-attempt
  verb
• reattempt
  verb (used with object)
• attemptable
  adjective
• unattemptable
  adjective
• unattempted
  adjective
• unattempting
  adjective
• well-attempted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• attempts
  plural

Participles

• attempting
  present
• attempted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• attempt
  simple
• attempts
  simple
• have attempted
  perfect
• has attempted
  perfect
• am attempting
  progressive
• are attempting
  progressive
• is attempting
  progressive
• have been attempting
  perfect progressive
• has been attempting
  perfect progressive

Past

• attempted
  simple
• had attempted
  perfect
• was attempting
  progressive
• were attempting
  progressive
• had been attempting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will attempt
  simple
• will have attempted
  perfect
• will be attempting
  progressive
• will have been attempting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of attempt

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English from Anglo-French atempter from Latin attemptāre “to test, tamper with.” See at-, tempt

Explanation

To attempt is to make an effort. You may attempt to read a book, but if you fail, no harm. If you attempt to jump from one building to the next and fail . . . . Ouch. The word attempt can also be used as a noun. It's an honest effort to do something. Your attempt to bake a birthday cake may look like a disaster, but the birthday boy will appreciate the effort anyway. The noun attempt can also mean an attack on a person or place, but in this case, it's best to hope that the attempt is not on your life. And never, ever attempt that sort of thing at home!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attempt attempts attempted attempting

"We've always just been stuck in this low number statistics regime, so this is our very best attempt to build a big enough sample to do something more useful."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

The demands grew into more serious threats, according to the records the news outlet cited, which the plaintiffs saw as an attempt to obtain money from the Parton estate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the club laid on a private jet and food for Mbappe and his family in an attempt to sign him, before he eventually joined Paris St-Germain.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

He called it the company’s “clearest attempt yet to build a non-ad revenue stream.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

He didn’t even attempt that in wolf talk, because he’d realized that he didn’t actually speak it very well.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

I’m really concerned about attempts to limit intellectual freedom in the U.S., especially when it comes to libraries and schools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Friends of Slate Richard L. Revesz and Sarah Wheaton explain in Slate how a proposed regulation attempts to stop collecting race and ethnicity data, which could have wide-ranging implications for public health.

From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026

As Rodríguez met with U.S. officials in New York, opposition leader María Corina Machado made three unsuccessful attempts to return to Venezuela by plane and sea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The campaign mirrors attempts in Germany, where in 2018 journalists Gunda Windmüller and Mithu Sanyal started a petition to change "Shamlippen" to "Vulvalippen".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Nobody knew anything, and as I grew more agitated, my attempts at English dissolved into incoherence.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

AI agents linked to OpenAI attempted to hack into university and government websites to gather data without being prompted to do so.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The pilot attempted to restart the engine multiple times, with no success.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

“The arrival of the shoulder season, fading weather support, and strengthening injections are muzzling attempted upside runs from earlier in September,” Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Loveridge's car ended up on its side, while Howells remained injured inside his vehicle as passers-by attempted to help him.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Cavalry rode to the Occoquan River to intercept anyone who attempted to cross.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Scientists have been attempting to measure big G for more than 225 years, beginning roughly a century after Isaac Newton introduced his law of universal gravitation.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Archer's second wicket was curious – Wanindu Hasaranga out hit-wicket attempting a slog, his bat almost placed on top of the bails.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

These were actors who may have earlier been needling at or attempting to push my boundaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

I argued that attempting to police outsiders would be too cumbersome and that we don’t yet know enough about AI to make sensible uniform rules governing its use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Boaz, at least, was busy trying to tell a bunch of middle schoolers off for attempting to see an R-rated movie without their parents.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• attack
• bid
• endeavor
• experiment
• pursuit
• shot
• struggle
• try