trial

[ trahy-uhl, trahyl ]

noun

1. Law.
   1. the examination before a judicial tribunal of the facts put in issue in a cause, often including issues of law as well as those of fact.
   2. the determination of a person's guilt or innocence by due process of law.
2. the act of trying, testing, or putting to the proof.

   Synonyms: examination

3. test; proof.

   Synonyms: examination

4. an attempt or effort to do something.

   Synonyms: struggle, essay, endeavor

5. a tentative or experimental action in order to ascertain results; experiment.

   Synonyms: examination

6. the state or position of a person or thing being tried or tested; probation.
7. subjection to suffering or grievous experiences; a distressed or painful state:

   comfort in the hour of trial.

   Synonyms: hardship, trouble, sorrow, distress, tribulation, grief

8. an affliction or trouble.
9. a trying, distressing, or annoying thing or person.
10. Ceramics. a piece of ceramic material used to try the heat of a kiln and the progress of the firing of its contents.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or employed in a trial.
2. done or made by way of trial, proof, or experiment.
3. used in testing, experimenting, etc.
4. acting or serving as a sample, experimental specimen, etc.:

   a trial offer.

trial

¹

/ ˈtraɪəl /

noun

1. a grammatical number occurring in some languages for words in contexts where exactly three of their referents are described or referred to
2. modifier relating to or inflected for this number

trial

²

/ ˈtraɪəl; traɪl /

noun

1. 1. the act or an instance of trying or proving; test or experiment
   2. ( as modifier )

      a trial run

2. law
   1. the judicial examination of the issues in a civil or criminal cause by a competent tribunal and the determination of these issues in accordance with the law of the land
   2. the determination of an accused person's guilt or innocence after hearing evidence for the prosecution and for the accused and the judicial examination of the issues involved
   3. ( as modifier )

      trial proceedings

3. an effort or attempt to do something

   we had three trials at the climb

4. trouble or grief
5. an annoying or frustrating person or thing
6. often plural a competition for individuals

   sheepdog trials

7. a motorcycling competition in which the skills of the riders are tested over rough ground
8. ceramics a piece of sample material used for testing the heat of a kiln and its effects
9. on trial
   1. undergoing trial, esp before a court of law
   2. being tested, as before a commitment to purchase

verb

1. tr to test or make experimental use of (something)

   the idea has been trialled in several schools

Derived Forms

• ˈtrialling, noun

Other Words From

• inter·trial adjective
• non·trial noun
• post·trial adjective
• re·trial noun
• self-trial noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trial¹

First recorded in 1520–30; try + -al ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of trial¹

C19: from tri- + -al ¹

Origin of trial²

C16: from Anglo-French, from trier to try

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on trial,
   1. undergoing examination before a judicial tribunal.
   2. undergoing a probationary or trial period.

More idioms and phrases containing trial

• on trial

Synonym Study

Trial , experiment , test imply an attempt to find out something or to find out about something. Trial is the general word for a trying of anything: articles sent for ten days' free trial. Experiment is a trial conducted to prove or illustrate the truth or validity of something, or an attempt to discover something new: an experiment in organic chemistry. Test is a more specific word, referring to a trial under approved and fixed conditions, or a final and decisive trial as a conclusion of past experiments: a test of a new type of airplane. See affliction.

Example Sentences

The researchers stress the importance of further studies, especially randomised controlled clinical trials, to better understand the mechanisms behind the findings.

From Science Daily

In July, the legal case against Baldwin, who was on trial for manslaughter, was dismissed due to the prosecution's failure to turn over evidence to the defense.

From Salon

The trial, which began on Friday, included testimony from more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Ms Riley's former roommate and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra.

From BBC

When a robber bent down to grab stolen money, his hoodie rode up to reveal a star tattoo on his lower back — a marking that became a major focus during a trial this month.

From Los Angeles Times

His hearing on Wednesday comes one day after the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy campaigners - part of a group known as the Hong Kong 47 - in the city’s largest trial under the national security law.

From BBC

Related Words

• exploratory
• preliminary

More About Trial

What does trial mean?

In general, a trial is a test or an experiment.

Most commonly, the word refers to a criminal trial in a courtroom before a judge and jury. It is also often used in a scientific context to refer to things like clinical trials and drug trials. It can also refer to a hardship. It is commonly used in phrases like trial and error and trial by fire. It is most commonly used as a noun but it can also be used as an adjective and a verb.

Example: There are 500 people participating in our research trial for a new heart medication.

Where does trial come from?

The first records of trial come from the 1500s. It comes from the Anglo-French trier, meaning “to try” (the word try comes from the same term).

In a general sense, a trial of something is a test of it. This sense is seen in the common phrase trial and error, which refers to a process of continually trying or testing something, making mistakes, and trying and testing it again until you get it right. If you decide to test something out for a limited amount of time, you do so with a trial run or during a trial period.

Trial can be used to describe an ordeal or situation that subjects someone to trying times, testing their strength or endurance, as in the expression trials and tribulations. A trial by fire is a test of one’s abilities under pressure.

A trial by jury is also a kind of test, and if you’re the one on trial, you’ll need a trial lawyer. In a scientific context, a clinical trial is an investigation of a new medical treatment to see if it will work in humans. Pharmaceutical trials and drug trials test whether new medicines are safe and effective. Such medicines are said to be in the process of being trialled.

Athletes in certain sports must compete against other athletes in trials in order to qualify for a competition. This sense is seen in phrases like Olympic trial and time trial. 

Trial has many other specific meanings but they all deal with testing something, trying something out temporarily, or performing an experiment.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to trial?

• intertrial (adjective)
• mistrial (noun)
• nontrial (noun)
• posttrial (adjective)
• retrial (noun)

What are some synonyms for trial?

• test
• hardship
• exploratory
• probationary

What are some words that share a root or word element with trial? 

 

• try

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing trial?

 

• court
• jury
• hearing
• clinical
• drug
• time
• error
• tribulation
• balloon
• run
• preliminary

How is trial used in real life?

The main uses of trial—legal trials, scientific trials, and personal trials—are usually seen in a serious context.

to whoever stole my umbrella during #jpm18: may your next clinical trial fail to be statistically significant

— Stephanie M. Lee (@stephaniemlee) January 9, 2018

On June 19th, 1999 I got hit by a van while taking a walk. As I lay unconscious in the hospital, the docs debated amputating my right leg and decided it could stay, on a trial basis. I got better. Every day of the 20 years since has been a gift.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 19, 2019

Lady in public lane: you’re very good at swimming you know..

Me: erm, thanks

Lady: no seriously, you should try and do a trial with the county club!

Me: erm, well I actually went to a couple of Olympics..

Lady: me too! Which sports did you get manage to get tickets for?

🤔

— Lizzie Simmonds (@LizzieSimmonds1) March 10, 2018

 

 

Try using trial!

True or False? 

Trial can only be used as a noun.