tryout
Americannoun
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a trial or test to ascertain fitness for some purpose.
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Theater. performances of a play in preparation for an official opening, often taking place away from a major theatrical center.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tryout
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase try out
Vocabulary lists containing tryout
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.
See Examples For:
“That’s hard to do. But at many of these places, you can do a tryout and stay in a unit for a week,” said Horowitz.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
But on the day it mattered most, she flubbed her tryout and failed to make the team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
The show is inspired by a 2022 short video featuring an undercover Eli Manning as a walk-on at a Penn State football tryout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
You see this guy’s arm, just like they did in Eli’s tryout video, you’re like, “That’s a pro arm, that’s an arm that deserves to go all the way.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
Harry did not think he could stand another full-House tryout.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Sitting in the center of the room, personally overseeing the tryouts, Wembanyama conducted a series of unusually loud job interviews—listening to chants, gauging volume and pressure-testing die-hard levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
WWE also held a tryouts event in London over the weekend for aspiring stars to show off their skills in front of the company.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
Final tryouts still haven’t happened because the fields are unavailable, but Chris Swan, a board member, said at an emergency meeting of the board, “Everybody was all in to play.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2025
They famously hosted tryouts for the Doo Dah Parade queen, an irreverent counter to Pasadena’s Rose Parade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025
Though he had not shown up at the second tryouts or at either practice, Fornatee thought scrimmage day was the right time to approach Coach Luma and ask to rejoin the team.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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.
