Try Definition

trī
tried, tries, trying
verb
tried, tries, trying
To separate; set apart.
Webster's New World
To make an experiment.
Webster's New World
To extract or refine (metal, etc.) by heating.
Webster's New World
To conduct the trial of (a legal claim).
To try a negligence case.
American Heritage
To settle (a matter, quarrel, etc.) by a test or contest; fight out.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
noun
tries
The act or an instance of trying; attempt; effort; trial.
Webster's New World
A scoring play in which the ball is grounded on or behind the opponent's goal line.
Webster's New World
An act of tasting or sampling.
I gave sushi a try but I didn't like it.
Wiktionary

(rugby) A score in rugby, analogous to a touchdown in American football.

Today I scored my first try.
Wiktionary
Antonyms:
adjective

(obsolete) Fine, excellent.

Wiktionary
abbreviation

Initialism of Turkish lira.

Wiktionary
idiom
try (one's) hand
  • To attempt to do something for the first time:

    I tried my hand at skiing.

American Heritage
try (one's) fortune
  • To make an effort or take a risk to be successful, especially as a newcomer.
American Heritage
try on
  • to test the fit or appearance of (an item of clothing, jewelry, etc.) by putting it on
Webster's New World
try one's hand at
  • to attempt (to do something), esp. for the first time
Webster's New World
try out
  • to test the quality, result, value, etc. of, as by putting to use; experiment with
  • to test one's fitness, as for a job, a place on an athletic team, a role in a play, etc.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Try

Noun

Singular:
try
Plural:
tries

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Try

Origin of Try

  • From Middle English trien (“to try a legal case"), from Anglo-Norman trier (“to try a case"), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull"), of uncertain origin. Believed to be a metathetic variation of Old French tirer (“to pull out, snatch"), from Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (tiran, “to tear away, remove"), from Proto-Germanic *teranÄ… (“to tear, tear apart"), from Proto-Indo-European *derÉ™- (“to tear, tear apart"), see tear. Related to Occitan triar (“to pick out, choose from among others").

    From Wiktionary

  • 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).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English trien to pick out, separate (right from wrong), test, attempt from Old French trier to pick out Provençal Catalan triar to pick out of unknown origin

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Probably from Old French trié.

    From Wiktionary

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to try using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

try