Definitions
01to attempt
A1 · Beginner
v. to make an effort to do something, even if you are not sure you will succeed.
v. to make an attempt or endeavour to achieve a specific goal; typically followed by a to-infinitive.
“I will try to finish my homework before the football game starts.”
“The rescue team will try to reach the stranded climbers before the blizzard makes the mountain pass completely impassable.”
Pitfall
I will try and to finish it.
I will try to finish it.
In formal writing, use 'try to' followed by the base verb. 'Try and' is common in spoken English but is considered informal.
02to test or sample
A2 · Elementary
v. to use, taste, or do something to see if you like it or if it works.
v. to test the quality, effect, or utility of something through experimentation or sampling.
“You should try the local soup while you are visiting the city.”
“Engineers decided to try a different alloy for the turbine blades to see if it could withstand higher temperatures without warping.”
Synonyms
03to judge in court
B2 · Upper Intermediate Law Formal
v. to examine a case in a court of law to decide if someone is guilty.
v. to examine and determine a case or a person's guilt in a judicial court.
“The man was tried for theft and found guilty by the jury.”
“The defendant is scheduled to be tried in a federal court next month on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud.”
Usage
Usually used in the passive voice when referring to the defendant.
Synonyms
04to strain patience
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to make someone feel annoyed or tired by being difficult.
v. to subject someone's patience, temper, or endurance to a severe strain.
Español:probar
“The children's constant shouting really tried their mother's patience.”
“The long delays at the airport and the lack of information began to try the patience of even the most seasoned travellers.”
05an attempt
A2 · Elementary Countable noun
n. an act of attempting to do something.
n. an instance of making an effort; an attempt.
“I didn't catch the ball on my first try, but I got it the second time.”
“Despite a valiant try by the underdog team in the final minutes, the defending champions secured their victory.”
06rugby score
B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Sports
n. a way of scoring points in rugby by touching the ball down behind the opponent's goal line.
n. the primary method of scoring in rugby union and rugby league, involving grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area.
“The winger ran half the length of the field to score a brilliant try.”
“The referee consulted the television match official before awarding the try, as there was some doubt about whether the ball had been grounded properly.”
Synonyms
07programming block
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Programming Technical
n. a part of a computer program that tests code to see if it causes an error.
n. a language construct used to define a block of code in which exceptions may be thrown and subsequently caught.
“Put the database connection code inside a try block to handle any connection errors.”
“The developer implemented a try-catch-finally sequence to ensure that the file stream was closed regardless of whether an exception occurred during processing.”
Usage
Almost always paired with a 'catch' or 'finally' block.
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “try” in context.
Verb
01. try a new approach
“If the current method isn't working, we should try a new approach to solve the problem.”
verb + noun
02. try and stay calm
“You need to try and stay calm during the interview to make a good impression.”
verb + and + verb
03. try for a job
“She decided to try for a job at the local hospital after finishing her degree.”
verb + prep + noun
04. try the case
“The judge will try the case in the high court next month.”
verb + noun
Adverb
05. desperately try
“The rescue team desperately tried to reach the trapped climbers before the storm hit.”
adv + verb
06. hardly try
“He hardly tried to hide his disappointment when he heard the news.”
adv + verb
Real-World Examples
“Munns, the potato farmer, said more people should try buying imperfect veg if they see it in the supermarket aisle this year.” “Although some climbers try to save him, they don’t succeed.” “Don’t try to stop your learning and don’t try to stop your study.” “Now the teams that try to build up are trying to find solutions against man-to-man.” Etymology
From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”). Suggested to be derived from Late Latin trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”), itself derived from Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”), the past participle of terō, terere (“to rub, wear down, trample”), though this derivation is incompatible with the Occitan form. Additionally, the shift in meaning from "rub, crush, trample" to "pick out, choose, cull" is difficult to explain. One suggestion is that the semantic shift might have originated from a Latin phrase granum terere ("to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)), which has a parallel in the modern French trier le grain (“to sort the grain”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from Vulgar Latin trīāre, a metathetic alteration of tīrāre (“to tear off, pull, draw”), whence also Old French tirer (“to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract”), Occitan tirar (“to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract”). Replaced native Middle English cunnen (“to try”) (from Old English cunnian), Middle English fandien (“to try, prove”) (from Old English fandian), and Middle English costnien (“to try, tempt, test”) (from Old English costnian).
Probably from Old French trié.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
Idioms
Grammar
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- B2 · Upper IntermediateOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/try
「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0