trial
[ trahy-uhl, trahyl ]
/ ˈtraɪ əl, traɪl /
noun
adjective
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Nearby words
Idioms
- undergoing examination before a judicial tribunal.
- undergoing a probationary or trial period.
on trial,
SYNONYMS FOR trial
2, 3, 5 examination.
Related forms
Can be confusedtrail trial
Synonym study
2, 3, 5. Trial , experiment , test imply an attempt to find out something or to find out about something. Trial is the general word for a trying of anything: articles sent for ten days' free trial. Experiment is a trial conducted to prove or illustrate the truth or validity of something, or an attempt to discover something new: an experiment in organic chemistry. Test is a more specific word, referring to a trial under approved and fixed conditions, or a final and decisive trial as a conclusion of past experiments: a test of a new type of airplane. 7. See affliction.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for on trial (1 of 2)
trial
1/ (ˈtraɪəl, traɪl) /
noun
verb trials, trialling or trialled
(tr) to test or make experimental use of (something)the idea has been trialled in several schools
Derived Formstrialling, noun
Word Origin for trial
C16: from Anglo-French, from trier to try
British Dictionary definitions for on trial (2 of 2)
trial
2/ (ˈtraɪəl) /
noun grammar
a grammatical number occurring in some languages for words in contexts where exactly three of their referents are described or referred to
(modifier) relating to or inflected for this number
Word Origin for trial
C19: from tri- + -al 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for on trial
trial
mid-15c., "act or process of testing," from Anglo-French trial, noun formed from triet "to try" (see try). Sense of "examining and deciding a case in a court of law" is first recorded 1570s; extended to any ordeal by 1590s. As an adjectival phrase, trial-and-error is recorded from 1806. Trial balloon (1939) is congnate of French ballon d'essai.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with on trial (1 of 2)
on trial
In the process of being tried, especially in a court of law. For example, He would be put on trial for the murder of his wife. [Early 1700s]
As a test of something, on probation, as in They said we could take the vacuum cleaner on trial and return it if it was too noisy. [Early 1700s]
Idioms and Phrases with on trial (2 of 2)
trial
In addition to the idioms beginning with trial
- trial and error
- trial balloon
- trial by fire
- trials and tribulations
also see:
- on trial
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.