Advertisement
Advertisement
trial and error
noun
- experimentation or investigation in which various methods or means are tried and faulty ones eliminated in order to find the correct solution or to achieve the desired result or effect.
trial and error
noun
- a method of discovery, solving problems, etc, based on practical experiment and experience rather than on theory
he learned to cook by trial and error
trial and error
- To “proceed by trial and error” is to experiment, rejecting what does not work and adopting what does.
Other Words From
- trial-and-error adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of trial and error1
Idioms and Phrases
An attempt to accomplish something by trying various means until the correct one is found. for example, The only way to solve this problem is by trial and error . The error here alludes to the failed means or attempts, which are discarded until the right way is found. [c. 1800]Example Sentences
It is a trial and error process, so people have to accept those errors and move on.
Rock of Ages, on the other hand, was recorded at the perfect moment: after the trial-and-error period, before the decline.
From there, we subjected ourselves to a lot of trial-and-error.
No trial-and-error, no baby hesitation with hand poised—just a sudden assured, controlled action.
How may we recognize this potential teacher without resorting to a clumsy, time-wasting, trial-and-error method?
Its use avoids the wastefulness of the trial-and-error method.
Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse