experiment

To experiment is to try out something new or to test a theory (verb)

An example of experiment is when you try out a new hair style.
An example of experiment is when you use test tubes and chemicals in a lab to complete a project and to try to better understand chemical reactions.

An experiment is a test or the act of trying out a new course of action. (noun)

An example of an experiment is when scientists give rats a new medicine and see how they react to learn about the medicine.
An example of an experiment is when you try a new coffee shop but you aren't sure how the coffee will taste.

See experiment in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a test or trial of something; specif.,
1. any action or process undertaken to discover something not yet known or to demonstrate something known
2. any action or process designed to find out whether something is effective, workable, valid, etc.
the conducting of such tests or trials; experimentation

intransitive verb

to make an experiment or experiments

Related Forms:

See experiment in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(ĭk-spĕrˈə-mənt)

noun

a. A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
b. The process of conducting such a test; experimentation.
An innovative act or procedure: “Democracy is only an experiment in government” (William Ralph Inge).
The result of experimentation: “We are not [nature's] only experiment” (R. Buckminster Fuller).