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try

(trī)

v. tried(trīd), try·ing, tries(trīz)

v. tr.

1. To make an effort to do or accomplish (something); attempt: tried to ski.

a. To taste, sample, or otherwise test in order to determine strength, effect, worth, or desirability: Try this casserole.

b. To make an effort to open (a closed door or window).

3. Law

a. To conduct the trial of (a legal claim): to try a negligence case.

b. To put (an accused person) on trial.

4. To subject to great strain or hardship; tax: The last steep ascent tried my every muscle.

5. To melt (lard, for example) to separate out impurities; render.

v. intr.

To make an effort; strive: I know it's not easy, but keep trying!

n. pl. tries(trīz)

1. An attempt; an effort.

2. Sports In rugby, an act of advancing the ball past the opponent's goal line and grounding it there for a score of three points.

Phrasal Verbs:

try on

1. To don (a garment) to test its fit.

2. To test or use experimentally.

try out

1. To undergo a competitive qualifying test, as for a job or athletic team.

2. To test or use experimentally.

Idioms:

try (one's) hand

To attempt to do something for the first time: I tried my hand at skiing.

try (one's) fortune

To make an effort or take a risk to be successful, especially as a newcomer.

[Middle English trien, to pick out, separate (right from wrong), test, attempt, from Old French trier, to pick out; akin to Provençal and Catalan triar, to pick out, of unknown origin.]

Usage Note: The phrase try and is commonly used as a substitute for try to, as in Could you try and make less noise? A number of grammarians have labeled the construction incorrect. To be sure, the usage is associated with informal style and strikes an inappropriately conversational note in formal writing. In our 2005 survey, just 55 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the construction in the sentence Why don't you try and see if you can work the problem out for yourselves?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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