trial

American  

[trahy-uhl, trahyl] / ˈtraɪ əl, traɪl /

noun

1. Law.

   1. the examination before a judicial tribunal of the facts put in issue in a cause, often including issues of law as well as those of fact.

   2. the determination of a person's guilt or innocence by due process of law.

2. the act of trying, testing, or putting to the proof.

   Synonyms:

   examination

3. test; proof.

   Synonyms:

   examination

4. an attempt or effort to do something.

   Synonyms:

   struggle, essay, endeavor

5. a tentative or experimental action in order to ascertain results; experiment.

   Synonyms:

   examination

6. the state or position of a person or thing being tried or tested; probation.

7. subjection to suffering or grievous experiences; a distressed or painful state.

   comfort in the hour of trial.

   Synonyms:

   hardship, trouble, sorrow, distress, tribulation, grief

8. an affliction or trouble.

9. a trying, distressing, or annoying thing or person.

10. Ceramics. a piece of ceramic material used to try the heat of a kiln and the progress of the firing of its contents.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or employed in a trial.

2. done or made by way of trial, proof, or experiment.

3. used in testing, experimenting, etc.

4. acting or serving as a sample, experimental specimen, etc..

   a trial offer.

idioms

1. on trial,

   1. undergoing examination before a judicial tribunal.

   2. undergoing a probationary or trial period.

trial ¹ British  

/ ˈtraɪəl, traɪl /

noun

1. 1. the act or an instance of trying or proving; test or experiment

   2. ( as modifier )

      a trial run

2. law

   1. the judicial examination of the issues in a civil or criminal cause by a competent tribunal and the determination of these issues in accordance with the law of the land

   2. the determination of an accused person's guilt or innocence after hearing evidence for the prosecution and for the accused and the judicial examination of the issues involved

   3. ( as modifier )

      trial proceedings

3. an effort or attempt to do something

   we had three trials at the climb

4. trouble or grief

5. an annoying or frustrating person or thing

6. (often plural) a competition for individuals

   sheepdog trials

7. a motorcycling competition in which the skills of the riders are tested over rough ground

8. ceramics a piece of sample material used for testing the heat of a kiln and its effects

9. 1. undergoing trial, esp before a court of law

   2. being tested, as before a commitment to purchase

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verb

1. (tr) to test or make experimental use of (something)

   the idea has been trialled in several schools

trial ² British  

/ ˈtraɪəl /

noun

1. a grammatical number occurring in some languages for words in contexts where exactly three of their referents are described or referred to

2. (modifier) relating to or inflected for this number

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trial More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing trial

• on trial

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Usage

What does trial mean? In general, a trial is a test or an experiment.Most commonly, the word refers to a criminal trial in a courtroom before a judge and jury. It is also often used in a scientific context to refer to things like clinical trials and drug trials. It can also refer to a hardship. It is commonly used in phrases like trial and error and trial by fire. It is most commonly used as a noun but it can also be used as an adjective and a verb.Example: There are 500 people participating in our research trial for a new heart medication.

Related Words

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. See affliction.

Other Word Forms

• intertrial adjective
• nontrial noun
• posttrial adjective
• retrial noun
• self-trial noun
• trialling noun

Etymology

Origin of trial

First recorded in 1520–30; try + -al ²

Example Sentences

The John Brown trial cannot completely resolve today’s birthright citizenship controversy—Brown was a citizen of the U.S., although not of Virginia, at a time when state citizenship was primary—but the implications are undeniable.

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026

It took some trial and error to arrive at the 15-minute construct.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

The researchers emphasized that early morning shift workers have not been widely studied, and the current trial lasted only four weeks and included otherwise healthy adults.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

This was a civil trial and they could have refused.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

“We oughta put her on trial right now for the mess she’s done.”

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• action
• arraignment
• case
• contest
• hearing
• impeachment
• indictment
• lawsuit
• litigation
• prosecution
• suit
• tribunal