Adjacent Words

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TRY, v.i. To exert strength; to endeavor; to make an effort; to attempt. Try to learn; try to lift a weight. The horses tried to draw the load. [These phrases give the true sense.]
TRY, v.t. To examine; to make experiment on; to prove by experiment.
Come, try upon yourselves what you have seen me.
1. To experience; to have knowledge by experience of.
Or try the Libyan heat, or Scythian cold.
2. To prove by a test; as, to try weights and measures by a standard; to try one's opinions by the divine oracles.
3. To act upon as a test.
The fire sev'n times tried this.
4. To examine judicially by witnesses and the principles of law; as causes tried in court.
5. To essay; to attempt.
Let us try advent'rous work.
6. To purify; to refine; as silver seven times tried.
7. To search carefully into. Psalms 11.
8. To use as means; as, to try remedies for a disease.
9. To strain; as, to try the eyes; the literal sense of the word.
To try tallow, etc. is to melt and separate it from the membranes.
To tryout, to pursue efforts till a decision is obtained.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try" [syn: attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, try] v
1: make an effort or attempt; "He tried to shake off his fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world" [syn: try, seek, attempt, essay, assay]
2: put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to; "This approach has been tried with good results"; "Test this recipe" [syn: test, prove, try, try out, examine, essay]
3: put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of; "The football star was tried for the murder of his wife"; "The judge tried both father and son in separate trials" [syn: judge, adjudicate, try]
4: take a sample of; "Try these new crackers"; "Sample the regional dishes" [syn: sample, try, try out, taste]
5: examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process; "The jury had heard all the evidence"; "The case will be tried in California" [syn: hear, try]
6: give pain or trouble to; "I've been sorely tried by these students"
7: test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!" [syn: try, strain, stress]
8: melt (fat or lard) in order to separate out impurities; "try the yak butter"; "render fat in a casserole" [syn: try, render]
9: put on a garment in order to see whether it fits and looks nice; "Try on this sweater to see how it looks" [syn: try on, try]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (tried; trying) Etymology: Middle English trien, from Anglo-French trier to select, sort, examine, determine, probably from Late Latin tritare to grind, frequentative of Latin terere to rub — more at throw Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to examine or investigate judicially <try a case> b. (1) to conduct the trial of (2) to participate as counsel in the judicial examination of 2. a. to put to test or trial <try one's luck> — often used with out <try out a new method> b. to subject to something (as undue strain or excessive hardship or provocation) that tests the powers of endurance c. demonstrate, prove 3. a. obsolete purify, refine b. to melt down and procure in a pure state ; render <try out whale oil from blubber> 4. to fit or finish with accuracy 5. to make an attempt at — often used with an infinitive <try to fix the car> intransitive verb to make an attempt <you can do it if you try> Synonyms: see afflict, attempt II. noun (plural tries) Date: 1832 1. an experimental trial ; attempt <succeeded on the first try> 2. a play in rugby that is similar to a touchdown in football, scores usually five points, and entitles the scoring side to attempt a placekick at the goal for additional points; also the score made on a try

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (-ies, -ied) 1 intr. make an effort with a view to success (often foll. by to + infin.; colloq. foll. by and + infin.: tried to be on time; try and be early; I shall try hard). Usage: Use with and is uncommon in the past tense and in negative contexts (except in imper.). 2 tr. make an effort to achieve (tried my best; had better try something easier). 3 tr. a test (the quality of a thing) by use or experiment. b test the qualities of (a person or thing) (try it before you buy). 4 tr. make severe demands on (a person, quality, etc.) (my patience has been sorely tried). 5 tr. examine the effectiveness or usefulness of for a purpose (try cold water; try the off-licence; have you tried kicking it?). 6 tr. ascertain the state of fastening of (a door, window, etc.). 7 tr. a investigate and decide (a case or issue) judicially. b subject (a person) to trial (will be tried for murder). 8 tr. make an experiment in order to find out (let us try which takes longest). 9 intr. (foll. by for) a apply or compete for. b seek to reach or attain (am going to try for a gold medal). 10 tr. (often foll. by out) a extract (oil) from fat by heating. b treat (fat) in this way. 11 tr. (often foll. by up) smooth (roughly-planed wood) with a plane to give an accurately flat surface. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 an effort to accomplish something; an attempt (give it a try). 2 Rugby Football the act of touching the ball down behind the opposing goal-line, scoring points and entitling the scoring side to a kick at goal. 3 Amer. Football an attempt to score an extra point in various ways after a touchdown. Phrases and idioms: try conclusions with see CONCLUSION. try a fall with contend with. try for size try out or test for suitability. try one's hand see how skilful one is, esp. at the first attempt. trying-plane a plane used in trying (see sense 11 of v.). try it on colloq. 1 test another's patience. 2 attempt to outwit or deceive another person. try on put on (clothes etc.) to see if they fit or suit the wearer. try-on n. Brit. colloq. 1 an act of trying it on. 2 an attempt to fool or deceive. try out 1 put to the test. 2 test thoroughly. try-out n. an experimental test of efficiency, popularity, etc. try-sail a small strong fore-and-aft sail set on the mainmast or other mast of a sailing-vessel in heavy weather. try-square a carpenter's square, usu. with one wooden and one metal limb. Etymology: ME, = separate, distinguish, etc., f. OF trier sift, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Try Try, n. In Rugby and Northern Union football, a score (counting three points) made by grounding the ball on or behind the opponent's goal line; -- so called because it entitles the side making it to a place kick for a goal (counting two points more if successful).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Try Try, v. t. [imp. & p. p. tried; p. pr. & vb. n. Trying.] [OE. trien to select, pick out, F. trier to cull, to out, LL. tritare to triturate (hence the sense of, to thresh, to separate the grain from the straw, to select), L. terere, tritum, to rub, bruise, grind, thresh. See Trite.] 1. To divide or separate, as one sort from another; to winnow; to sift; to pick out; -- frequently followed by out; as, to try out the wild corn from the good. [Obs.] --Sir T. Elyot. 2. To purify or refine, as metals; to melt out, and procure in a pure state, as oil, tallow, lard, etc. --Shak. The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. --Ps. xii. 6. For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. --Ps. lxvi. 10. 3. To prove by experiment; to apply a test to, for the purpose of determining the quality; to examine; to prove; to test; as, to try weights or measures by a standard; to try a man's opinions. Let the end try the man. --Shak. 4. To subject to severe trial; to put to the test; to cause suffering or trouble to. Thus far to try thee, Adam, I was pleased. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Try Try, a. [Cf. Try, v. t.] Refined; select; excellent; choice. [Obs.] ``Sugar that is try.'' --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Try Try, v. i. 1. To exert strength; to endeavor; to make an effort or an attempt; as, you must try hard if you wish to learn. 2. To do; to fare; as, how do you try! [Prov. Eng.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Try Try, n. 1. A screen, or sieve, for grain. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] --Holland. 2. Act of trying; attempt; experiment; trial. This breaking of his has been but a try for his friends. --Shak. Try cock, a gauge cock. See under Gauge.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tries, trying, tried) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. If you try to do something, you want to do it, and you take action which you hope will help you to do it. He secretly tried to block her advancement in the Party... Does it annoy you if others do things less well than you would, or don't seem to try hard enough?... I tried calling him when I got here but he wasn't at home... No matter how bad you feel, keep trying. VERB: V to-inf, V adv, V -ing, V • Try is also a noun. It wasn't that she'd really expected to get any money out of him; it had just seemed worth a try... N-COUNT 2. To try and do something means to try to do it. (INFORMAL) I must try and see him. VERB: V and inf 3. If you try for something, you make an effort to get it or achieve it. My partner and I have been trying for a baby for two years... He said he was going to try for first place next year. VERB: V for n, V for n 4. If you try something new or different, you use it, do it, or experience it in order to discover its qualities or effects. It's best not to try a new recipe for the first time on such an important occasion... I have tried painting the young shoots with weed poisoner, but this does not kill them off. VERB: V n, V -ing • Try is also a noun. If you're still sceptical about exercising, we can only ask you to trust us and give it a try. N-COUNT: usu sing 5. If you try a particular place or person, you go to that place or person because you think that they may be able to provide you with what you want. Have you tried the local music shops? VERB: V n 6. If you try a door or window, you try to open it. Bob tried the door. To his surprise it opened. VERB: V n 7. When a person is tried, he or she has to appear in a law court and is found innocent or guilty after the judge and jury have heard the evidence. When a legal case is tried, it is considered in a court of law. He suggested that those responsible should be tried for crimes against humanity... Whether he is innocent or guilty is a decision that will be made when the case is tried in court... The military court which tried him excluded two of his lawyers... VERB: be V-ed for n, be V-ed, V n 8. In the game of rugby, a try is the action of scoring by putting the ball down behind the goal line of the opposing team. The French, who led 21-3 at half time, scored eight tries. N-COUNT 9. see also tried, trying 10. If you say that something fails but not for want of trying or not for lack of trying, you mean that everything possible was done to make it succeed. Not all is perfect, but it isn't for want of trying. PHRASE: with neg, it v-link PHR, PHR with cl 11. to try your best: see best to try your hand: see hand to try your luck: see luck to try someone's patience: see patience

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Examine, test, prove, make experiment of, make trial of, put to the test, put to proof, prove by experiment. 2. Experience, have knowledge of (by trial). 3. Attempt, essay. 4. (Law.) Hear, examine judicially, adjudicate, adjudge. 5. Purify, refine. 6. Subject to trial, put to the test, sound. II. v. n. Attempt, endeavor, strive, aim, seek, make an effort, make essay, do one's best, do all that in one lies, strain every nerve. III. n. Attempt, experiment, trial, act of trying.

Moby Thesaurus

acid test, agonize, aim, annoy, appraise, approach, arbitrate, aspire, assay, attempt, bear hard upon, bid, bid for, blank determination, bolt, bother, bring to test, brouillon, burden, chance, charge the jury, check, clarify, clear, conduct a trial, confirm, contend for, crack, criterion, crucial test, crucible, crucify, cut and try, dab, decrassify, demonstrate, depurate, determination, distill, distress, docimasy, edulcorate, effort, elute, endeavor, engage, essay, essentialize, examine, excruciate, experiment, extract, feeling out, filter, filtrate, first draft, fling, gambit, give a try, give a tryout, go, go hard with, go ill with, harass, harrow, hassle, have a go, hear, hold court, hold the scales, hope, inspect, irk, jab, judge, kiteflying, leach, lick, lie on, lift a finger, lixiviate, load, make an attempt, make an effort, martyr, move, offer, officiate, oppress, ordeal, overburden, overload, pain, percolate, play around with, pop, practice upon, probation, proof, prove, pull for, purify, put to trial, rack, rectify, referee, refine, research, road-test, rough draft, rough sketch, run a sample, sample, screen, scrutinize, seek, separate, shake down, shot, sieve, sift, sit in judgment, slap, sounding out, spiritualize, stab, stagger, standard, step, strain, strain for, stress, strike, strive, strive for, striving, stroke, strong bid, struggle, struggle for, sublimate, sublime, substantiate, taste, tentative, test, test case, torment, torture, touchstone, trial, trial and error, trouble, try a case, try for, try it on, try one, try out, umpire, undertake, undertaking, validate, venture, venture on, venture upon, verification, verify, vex, weigh, weigh down, weigh heavy on, weigh on, weigh upon, whack, whirl, winnow, wring