What does tried-and-true mean? Tried-and-true is used to describe things that are known to work or be reliable due to having been tested or having worked many times before. The term uses the sense of the word true meaning reliable and unfailing. Tried-and-true is most often used to describe methods, tools, or other things that someone believes to be reliable because they’ve used many times before and they’ve always worked. It’s often used in situations in which someone wants to continue using the same method or tool they’ve been using to do something instead of trying something new that they’re unfamiliar with (even if it may work better). It’s sometimes used without hyphens, as tried and true. However, if it’s used immediately before a noun, it’s usually hyphenated, as in a tried-and-true method for getting out stains. Example: Why should we try a new recipe for chocolate chip cookies when we could just stick to the one that’s tried-and-true and that we’ve used for years?
First recorded in 1930–35
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The new creations entered the repertory amid a number of authoritative performances of tried and true ballets—mostly by the troupe’s incomparable founding choreographer George Balanchine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
He liked the tried and true “blue team-red team” strategy of designating people to explicitly challenge models and assumptions to overcome institutional biases.
From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026
Younger people are typically more willing to try new things and new brands, whereas older consumers may be less willing to switch from tried and true brands that have worked for them, Anderson said.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025
Design inspired by worlds beyond our full comprehension is a tried and true tradish.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2024
His boxy old Speed Graphic was tried and true the shop,” Darrel said as he helped his date into the pickup truck. liaison.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
