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

Explanation

When you run a series of tests on something, it's called a trial. If you invent a computer game and want to run it through a trial before releasing it, you might hire a bunch of teenagers to play it. A trial is also a court hearing to legally determine the result of a particular case. If your cousin is arrested for stealing her neighbor's dog, she may be put on trial. This term can also be used more generically, especially to talk about something being tried in the court of public opinion. The fate of music education is on trial in many school districts facing budget cuts.

Example Sentences

Trial lawyers, colleges, athletes and their boosters in state governments took Justice Kavanaugh’s cue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

"This is a very expensive blunder," said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and head of West Coast Trial Lawyers, who used to represent Disney.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said in a statement the allegations, if proved, “represent dishonest and illegal conduct.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

A BBC radio documentary on the case, "Assignment: Greece-Rescuers on Trial" will be broadcast on BBC World Service on Tuesday, January 20, and will available on BBC Sounds.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026

Bootsteps shuffle and thump around me, Centurions shout orders, and I hear amphitheater and Fourth Trial My whole body tenses.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Related Words

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