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, 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. 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

trial

²

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• trialling noun
• intertrial adjective
• nontrial noun
• posttrial adjective
• retrial noun
• self-trial noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trial¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of trial¹

C16: from Anglo-French, from trier to _try

Origin of trial²

C19: from _tri- + _-al ¹

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

Emergency service workers and local people who were among the first to provide assistance are also being encouraged to register as victims ahead of the trial in Washington in the US.

From BBC

A former anaesthetist has gone on trial in the city of Besançon, in eastern France, accused of intentionally poisoning 30 people, including 12 patients who died.

From BBC

The claims were buttressed at trial by the introduction into evidence of a previously unpublished audit of cleanup operations for several large fires in 2018.

From Los Angeles Times

Spectators queued daily to nab a spot in the courtroom, thousands of people picked apart details of the case online, and journalists descended from around the world to cover the lengthy trial.

From BBC

A woman accused of murdering her two children and hiding their remains in suitcases is going on trial in New Zealand, in a case that has shocked the country.

From BBC

Related Words

• action 
• arraignment 
• case 
• contest 
• hearing 
• impeachment 
• indictment 
• lawsuit 
• litigation 
• prosecution 
• suit 
• tribunal 

When To Use

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.