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

During Acosta’s trial, the 17-year-old testified that her stepfather had repeatedly molested her between the ages of 7 and 15, according to the Orange County Register.

From Los Angeles Times

Acosta’s attorney noted during that trial that the teenage girl had lied to police and prosecutors, including alleging that her mother had abused her and had previously denied telling anyone about the alleged abuse.

From Los Angeles Times

During Foden's trial, the court heard colleagues saw him go to his car with one of his victims and hug her.

From BBC

The council said a formal "recovery plan" was to be implemented, saying it had "proactive steps in place" to review internal processes, including a barrister investigating events in 2019 referenced in the trial.

From BBC

During the trial, jurors heard that Chapman drove to Waring's family home in Private Drive, Barnston, after the shooting and left his Mercedes car and a Skorpion sub-machine gun there.

From BBC

Related Words

• exploratory
• preliminary