try

[trahy]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR try ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), tried, try·ing.

to attempt to do or accomplish: Try it before you say it's simple.

to test the effect or result of (often followed by out): to try a new method; to try a recipe out.

to endeavor to evaluate by experiment or experience: to try a new field; to try a new book.

to test the quality, value, fitness, accuracy, etc., of: Will you try a spoonful of this and tell me what you think of it?

Law. to examine and determine judicially, as a cause; determine judicially the guilt or innocence of (a person).

to put to a severe test; subject to strain, as of endurance, patience, affliction, or trouble; tax: to try one's patience.

to attempt to open (a door, window, etc.) in order to find out whether it is locked: Try all the doors before leaving.

to melt down (fat, blubber, etc.) to obtain the oil; render (usually followed by out).

Archaic.

to determine the truth or right of (a quarrel or question) by test or battle (sometimes followed by out).
to find to be right by test or experience.

verb (used without object), tried, try·ing.

to make an attempt or effort; strive: Try to complete the examination.

Nautical. to lie to in heavy weather under just sufficient sail to head into the wind.

noun, plural tries.

an attempt or effort: to have a try at something.

Rugby. a score of three points earned by advancing the ball to or beyond the opponents' goal line.

Verb Phrases

try on, to put on an article of clothing in order to judge its appearance and fit: You can't really tell how it will look until you try it on.

try out, to use experimentally; test: to try out a new car.

try out for, to compete for (a position, membership, etc.): Over a hundred boys came to try out for the football team.

Idioms

give it the old college try, Informal. to make a sincere effort: I gave it the old college try and finally found an apartment.

try it/that on, Chiefly British Informal.

to put on airs: She's been trying it on ever since the inheritance came through.
to be forward or presumptuous, especially with a member of the opposite sex: She avoided him after he'd tried it on with her.

Origin of try

1250–1300; Middle English trien to try (a legal case) < Anglo-French trier, Old French: to sift, cull, of uncertain origin

Related formspre·try, verb (used with object), pre·tried, pre·try·ing.re·try, verb, re·tried, re·try·ing.

Synonyms for try

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR try ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 10. Try, attempt, endeavor, strive all mean to put forth an effort toward a specific end. Try is the most often used and most general term: to try to decipher a message; to try hard to succeed. Attempt, often interchangeable with try, sometimes suggests the possibility of failure and is often used in reference to more serious or important matters: to attempt to formulate a new theory of motion. Endeavor emphasizes serious and continued exertion of effort, sometimes aimed at dutiful or socially appropriate behavior: to endeavor to fulfill one's obligations. Strive, stresses persistent, vigorous, even strenuous effort, often in the face of obstacles: to strive to overcome a handicap.

Usage note

10. Try followed by and instead of to has been in standard use since the 17th century: The Justice Department has decided to try and regulate jury-selection practices. The construction occurs only with the base form try, not with tries or tried or trying. Although some believe that try and is less formal than try to, both patterns occur in all types of speech and writing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for try

shot, attack, work, seek, struggle, investigate, prove, hear, decide, essay, whirl, dab, fling, effort, bid, slap, pop, jab, trial, stab

Examples from the Web for try

Contemporary Examples of try

Whatever the FBI says, the truthers will create alternative hypotheses that try to challenge the ‘official story.’
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?
Shane Harris
January 8, 2015
We try to avoid going away for too long, so we can check back in.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore
James Joiner
January 7, 2015
“You try to always scratch where the itch is,” Huckabee said about his campaigning and rhetoric in the 2008 primary.
Why This Liberal Hearts Huckabee
Sally Kohn
January 6, 2015
Their first attempt to unseat the House speaker failed miserably, so why not try again?
The YOLO Caucus' New Cry for Attention
Ben Jacobs
January 4, 2015
On his eighth try, more than three decades after he went in, the parole board finally voted to release Sam.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside
Justin Rohrlich
January 3, 2015

Historical Examples of try

My dear, don't fail to try them, they're exquisitely perfect!
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
At any rate, I won't be coward enough to try to hide it from her.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
"Better not try to describe her—while I'm by, you know," said Mrs. Drelmer, sympathetically.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
But do try to believe, at the same time, that my own selfishness has been a kindness to you.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The past slid from him so easily, he forgot even to try to forget.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson

British Dictionary definitions for try

try

verb tries, trying or tried

(when tr, may take an infinitive, sometimes with to replaced by and) to make an effort or attempthe tried to climb a cliff

(tr often foll by out) to sample, test, or give experimental use to (something) in order to determine its quality, worth, etctry her cheese flan

(tr) to put strain or stress onhe tries my patience

(tr; often passive) to give pain, affliction, or vexation to: I have been sorely tried by those children

to examine and determine the issues involved in (a cause) in a court of law
to hear evidence in order to determine the guilt or innocence of (an accused)
to sit as judge at the trial of (an issue or person)

(tr) to melt (fat, lard, etc) in order to separate out impurities

(tr usually foll by out) obsolete to extract (a material) from an ore, mixture, etc, usually by heat; refine

noun plural tries

an experiment or trial

an attempt or effort

rugby the act of an attacking player touching the ball down behind the opposing team's goal line, scoring five or, in Rugby League, four points

Also called: try for a point American football an attempt made after a touchdown to score an extra point by kicking a goal or, for two extra points, by running the ball or completing a pass across the opponents' goal line

Word Origin for try

C13: from Old French trier to sort, sift, of uncertain origin

usage

The use of and instead of to after try is very common, but should be avoided in formal writing: we must try to prevent (not try and prevent) this happening

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for try

c.1300, "examine judiciously, sit in judgment of," from Anglo-French trier (late 13c.), from Old French trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from Gallo-Romance *triare, of unknown origin. The ground sense is "separate out (the good) by examination." Meaning "to test" is first recorded mid-14c.; that of "attempt to do" is from early 14c. Sense of "to subject to some strain" (of patience, endurance, etc.) is recorded from 1530s. Trying "distressing" is first attested 1718. To try (something) on for size in the figurative sense is recorded from 1956.

try in Medicine

Try

abbr.

tryptophan

Idioms and Phrases with try

try

In addition to the idioms beginning with try

try on
try one's hand
try one's patience
try out

also see:

old college try

Also see undertried.