try

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

try^¹

/tɹaɪ/
[t͡ʃɹaɪ̯]
[tɹ̝̊aɪ̯]
[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔aɪ̯]
[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔ʷaɪ̯]
/tɹɑj/ British, Southern, Standard
/tɹaɪ/ Canada
/tɹʌɪ/ dialectal
[tɹəi̯] dialectal

Rhymes with -aɪ

Where it comes from

From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”). Suggested to be derived from Late Latin *trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”), itself derived from Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”), the past participle of terō, terere (“to rub, wear down, trample”), though this derivation is incompatible with the Occitan form. Additionally, the shift in meaning from "rub, crush, trample" to "pick out, choose, cull" is difficult to explain. One suggestion is that the semantic shift might have originated from a Latin phrase *granum terere ("to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)), which has a parallel in the modern French trier le grain (“to sort the grain”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from Vulgar Latin *trīāre, a metathetic alteration of *tīrāre (“to tear off, pull, draw”), whence also Old French tirer (“to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract”), Occitan tirar (“to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract”).

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).

verb tries · trying · tried · try

To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive. I tried to rollerblade, but I couldn’t.
Similar: attempt, endeavor, fand, mint, take a run at, take a stab at
obsolete To separate (precious metal etc.) from the ore by melting; to purify, refine. […]euery feend his buſie paines applyde, / To melt the golden metall, ready to be tryde.
obsolete To winnow; to sift; to pick out; frequently followed by out. to try out the wild corn from the good
obsolete To extract oil from blubber or fat; to melt down blubber to obtain oil. ‘Yes, they used the works to try the whale they took from me.’
obsolete To extract wax from a honeycomb
To make an experiment. Usually followed by a present participle. I tried mixing more white paint to get a lighter shade.
To put to test. I shall try my skills on this.
specifically To test someone's patience. You are trying my patience.
slang, used before a noun To fight or to make an attempt at an attack. You wouldn't dare and try me!
figuratively, used in the imperative To receive an imminent attack; to take. Mona: Try this vampire bolt on for size! Cedric: Why don't you try this alien bolt?
To taste, sample, etc. Oh, you need to try the soup of the day!
Similar: sample, taste
To prove by experiment; to apply a test to, for the purpose of determining the quality; to examine; to prove; to test. to try weights or measures by a standard; to try a person's opinions
with indirect interrogative clause To attempt to determine (by experiment or effort). I'll try whether I can make it across town on foot.
To put on trial. He was tried and executed.
Similar: doom, judge, adjudge, adjudicate, arbitrate, deem, hear, rule on, settle, try
To have or gain knowledge of by experience. […]try the Lybian Heat, or Scythian Cold.
To work on something with one's best effort and focus. Dad, for God's sake, I'm trying my best!
obsolete To do; to fare. How do you try! (i.e., how do you do?)
To settle; to decide; to determine; specifically, to decide by an appeal to arms. to try rival claims by a duel; to try conclusions
euphemistic, of a couple To attempt to conceive a child.
To lie to in heavy weather under just sufficient sail to head into the wind.
To strain; to subject to excessive tests. The light tries his eyes.
slang, used with another verb To want, to desire. I am really not trying to hear you talk about my mama like that.

noun tries · trie

An attempt. I gave unicycling a try but I couldn’t do it.
Similar: bash, go, stab, whirl
An act of tasting or sampling. I gave sushi a try but I didn’t like it.
Similar: sampling, taste, tasting
A score in rugby league and rugby union, analogous to a touchdown in American football. Today I scored my first try.
Similar: touchdown
UK, dialectal, obsolete A screen, or sieve, for grain. They will not passe thorough the holes of the sieve, ruddle or trie, if they be narrow.
A field goal or extra point
A move that almost solves a chess problem, except that Black has a unique defense.
A block of code that may trigger exceptions the programmer expects to catch, usually demarcated by the keyword try.

Similar: extra point

try^²

/tɹaɪ/
[t͡ʃɹaɪ̯]
[tɹ̝̊aɪ̯]
[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔aɪ̯]
[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔ʷaɪ̯]
/tɹɑj/ British, Southern, Standard
/tɹaɪ/ Canada
/tɹʌɪ/ dialectal
[tɹəi̯] dialectal

Rhymes with -aɪ

Where it comes from

From Middle English trye, trie, probably from Old French trié, past participle of Old French trier (“to try”).

adjective more try · most try

obsolete Fine, excellent. But he her ſuppliant hands, thoſe hands of gold, / And eke her feete, thoſe feete of ſiluer trye, […] Chopt off […].

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: attempt, assay, endeavour, endeavor, seek, effort, test, examine, try on, prove, try out, stress, render, adjudicate, hear, judge

verb

noun

Similar: extra point

Translations

Every language

verb to attempt

Español	intentar, tratar de, ver de, hacer todo lo posible, hacer su mejor esfuerzo
한국어	시도하다 sidohada, 시험하다 siheomhada, 노력하다 noryeokhada, 보다 boda
日本語	挑戦する chōsen suru, 努める tsutomeru, 試す tamesu, やってみる yatte miru, みる miru
中文	嘗試 /尝试 chángshì, 企圖 /企图 qǐtú, 試 /试 shì
हिन्दी	कोशिश करना kośiś karnā
Kiswahili	kujaribu
Português	tentar
Français	essayer, tâcher, tenter
Deutsch	versuchen
Italiano	cercare, tentare, provare
Ελληνικά	δοκιμάζω dokimázo, προσπαθώ prospathó
Română	încerca, proba
Русский	пыта́ться pytátʹsja, попыта́ться popytátʹsja, про́бовать próbovatʹ, попро́бовать popróbovatʹ, стара́ться starátʹsja, постараться postaratʹsja
Tiếng Việt	cố gắng, gắng
العربية	حَاوَلَ ḥāwala, سَعَى saʕā, طَلَب ṭalab
עברית	השתדל hishtadél, ניסה nisá

verb to make an experiment

Español	tratar de, intentar
日本語	試みる kokoromiru
中文	試驗 /试验 shìyàn
Português	tentar, experimentar, provar
Français	essayer, tâcher, tenter
Deutsch	versuchen, probieren, experimentieren, testen
Italiano	provare
Ελληνικά	πειραματίζομαι peiramatízomai
Română	proba
Русский	про́бовать próbovatʹ, попро́бовать popróbovatʹ
Tiếng Việt	thử nghiệm

verb to put to test

Español	probar
日本語	試みる kokoromiru
Português	testar
Français	tester
Deutsch	testen, untersuchen, ausprobieren
Italiano	provare, testare
Română	testa, proba
Русский	про́бовать próbovatʹ, попро́бовать popróbovatʹ, испы́тывать ispýtyvatʹ, испыта́ть ispytátʹ

verb to taste, sample, etc

Español	probar
日本語	試す tamesu
中文	嘗 /尝 cháng, 嘗味 /尝味 chángwèi
Português	experimentar, provar
Français	essayer, goûter
Deutsch	kosten, probieren, versuchen, verkosten
Italiano	assaggiare
Română	gusta, încerca
Русский	про́бовать próbovatʹ, попро́бовать popróbovatʹ
Tiếng Việt	thử

verb to put on trial

Español	juzgar, judgar
日本語	裁判に掛ける saiban ni kakeru
Português	processar, autuar, acionar
Français	traduire en justice
Deutsch	den Prozess machen, vor Gericht stellen, vor Gericht verhandeln, anklagen
Italiano	mettere alla prova
Ελληνικά	δικάζω dikázo
Română	judeca
Русский	суди́ть sudítʹ
Tiếng Việt	xét xử
العربية	حَاكَمَ ḥākama

verb to work on something

Español	esforzarse, procurar, pretender, intentar hacer, probar a
Português	esforçar-se
Français	s'efforcer
Deutsch	sich befassen, sich beschäftigen mit
Italiano	cercare
Ελληνικά	προσπαθώ prospathó
Română	se forța, strădui
Русский	стара́ться starátʹsja, постара́ться postarátʹsja

noun an attempt

Español	intento, probatura
日本語	試み kokoromi
हिन्दी	प्रयास prayās, प्रयत्न prayatna
Português	tentativa
Français	tentative, essai
Deutsch	Versuch, Anlauf, Test, Probe
Italiano	tentativo, prova
Ελληνικά	απόπειρα apópeira
Română	încercare, tentativă, probă
Русский	попы́тка popýtka
Tiếng Việt	sự thử, lần thử
العربية	مُحَاوَلَة muḥāwala

noun an act of tasting or sampling

Español	prueba
日本語	試み kokoromi
Português	teste, prova
Deutsch	Probe, Verkostung
Română	probare, experimentare
Русский	про́ба próba

noun a score in rugby

Español	try (trai), ensayo
日本語	トライ torai
Português	try, ensaio
Français	essai
Deutsch	Versuch
Italiano	meta
Română	încercare

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Cite this

MLA

"try." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/try. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

try. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/try

Chicago

"try." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/try.

BibTeX

@misc{try_2026,
  title = {try},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/try},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}

try

AI In plain words

try¹

Where it comes from

verb tries · trying · tried · try

noun tries · trie

try²

Where it comes from

adjective more try · most try

Thesaurus

Translations

verb to attempt

verb to make an experiment

verb to put to test

verb to taste, sample, etc

verb to put on trial

verb to work on something

noun an attempt

noun an act of tasting or sampling

noun a score in rugby

try^¹

try^²