trial and error

American  

noun

1. 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.

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trial and error British  

noun

1. 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

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trial and error Cultural  

1. To “proceed by trial and error” is to experiment, rejecting what does not work and adopting what does.

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trial and error Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

• trial-and-error
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of trial and error

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trial and error

The feat followed trial and error that initially saw him mollycoddle corals in stress-free environments, but those easily perished in the ocean once transplanted.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Manufacturing HBM at scale requires expertise that must be built up over multiple iterations of trial and error.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

But through trial and error, it helped clarify one of the major obstacles standing in the way of widespread AI adoption, and it has proposed a way forward.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

"The struggle always is to get more than two of the three to be good, and this is where trial and error only gets you so far," Simmons said.

From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026

The Allies, after much trial and error, learned to use their tanks effectively in coordination with artillery barrages, infantry assaults, and—toward the end of the war—attacks by low-flying aircraft.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman