retry

British  

/ riːˈtraɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to try again (a case already determined); give a new trial to

---

Explanation

In law, to hold another trial for a case is to retry it. It's not legal in the U.S. to retry a defendant for a crime after she's been found innocent. A judge might decide to retry a case if the jury can't come to a unanimous decision, or if a jury member is found to be biased. And when the defendant in a case is found guilty, they can appeal the decision in the hopes that the court will retry it, sometimes using a new attorney or new evidence. You probably won't use this verb to literally mean "try again" — you're more likely to say reattempt.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retry

District Attorney Timothy Cruz said at the time that prosecutors had not yet decided whether to retry Clancy.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Conveniently, the decision came when it was too late to retry Mr. da Silva before the statute of limitations ran out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Current New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams declined to retry the case, clearing the way for Brooks to file his compensation claim two years later.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

Bill Essayli quickly announced that his office would retry the case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

"Judge, they're the ones that are trying to retry this case and we need our people inside," Valeska countered.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---