try out
Britishverb
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(tr) to test or put to experimental use
I'm going to try the new car out
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(of an athlete, actor, etc) to undergo a test or to submit (an athlete, actor, etc) to a test to determine suitability for a place in a team, an acting role, etc
noun
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Undergo a qualifying test, as for an athletic team. For example, I'm trying out for the basketball team . [Mid-1900s]
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Test or use experimentally, as in They're trying out new diesels , or We're trying out this new margarine . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
It was the Christmas holidays when Kimi was about three, and Marco had brought home a simulator he had bought for his guests to try out at the Bologna Motor Show.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
When one of his students hits the stage to try out their comedy material, Aidan Park is usually pacing back and forth in the back, hoping his students don’t forget a line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
That won’t chill the opportunism, like a couple of attention-seeking ex-NBA players pledging to try out for the league.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
I finally say, “I probably won’t try out for the pageant anyway. I’m ’a be busy with school, so...”
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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.
