Nearby Words
verb
1.
simple past tense and past participle of try.
adjective
2.
tested and proved good, dependable, or trustworthy.
3.
subjected to hardship, worry, trouble, or the like.
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Tried
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
Example Sentences
- The engineers have installed gates and tried huge firecrackers, rockets, rubber bullets and noises that sea lions do not like.
- So he tried a new experiment, injecting a mouse's belly with a highly watered-down solution of acetic acid.
- Those in the first group also tried out four different actions, on average.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to attempt to do or accomplish: Try it before you say it's simple.
2.
to test the effect or result of (often followed by out): to try a new method; to try a recipe out.
3.
to endeavor to evaluate by experiment or experience: to try a new field; to try a new book.
4.
to test the quality, value, fitness, accuracy, etc., of: Will you try a spoonful of this and tell me what you think of it?
5.
EXPANDLaw. to examine and determine judicially, as a cause; determine judicially the guilt or innocence of (a person).
6.
to put to a severe test; subject to strain, as of endurance, patience, affliction, or trouble; tax: to try one's patience.
7.
to attempt to open (a door, window, etc.) in order to find out whether it is locked: Try all the doors before leaving.
8.
to melt down (fat, blubber, etc.) to obtain the oil; render (usually followed by out).
9.
COLLAPSEArchaic.
a.
to determine the truth or right of (a quarrel or question) by test or battle (sometimes followed by out).
b.
to find to be right by test or experience.
verb (used without object)
10.
to make an attempt or effort; strive: Try to complete the examination.
11.
Nautical. to lie to in heavy weather under just sufficient sail to head into the wind.
noun
Verb phrases12.
an attempt or effort: to have a try at something.
14.
try on, to put on an article of clothing in order to judge its appearance and fit: You can't really tell how it will look until you try it on.
15.
try out, to use experimentally; test: to try out a new car.
16.
Idiomstry out for, to compete for (a position, membership, etc.): Over a hundred boys came to try out for the football team.
17.
give it the old college try, Informal. to make a sincere effort: I gave it the old college try and finally found an apartment.
18.
try it/that on, Chiefly British Informal.
a.
to put on airs: She's been trying it on ever since the inheritance came through.
b.
to be forward or presumptuous, especially with a member of the opposite sex: She avoided him after he'd tried it on with her.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English trien to try (a legal case) < Anglo-French trier, Old French: to sift, cull, of uncertain origin
1250–1300; Middle English trien to try (a legal case) < Anglo-French trier, Old French: to sift, cull, of uncertain origin
Related forms
pre·try, verb (used with object), -tried, -try·ing.
re·try, verb, -tried, -try·ing.
Synonyms
1, 10. Try, attempt, endeavor, strive all mean to put forth an effort toward a specific end. Try is the most often used and most general term: to try to decipher a message; to try hard to succeed. Attempt, often interchangeable with try, sometimes suggests the possibility of failure and is often used in reference to more serious or important matters: to attempt to formulate a new theory of motion. Endeavor emphasizes serious and continued exertion of effort, sometimes aimed at dutiful or socially appropriate behavior: to endeavor to fulfill one's obligations. Strive, stresses persistent, vigorous, even strenuous effort, often in the face of obstacles: to strive to overcome a handicap.
1, 10. Try, attempt, endeavor, strive all mean to put forth an effort toward a specific end. Try is the most often used and most general term: to try to decipher a message; to try hard to succeed. Attempt, often interchangeable with try, sometimes suggests the possibility of failure and is often used in reference to more serious or important matters: to attempt to formulate a new theory of motion. Endeavor emphasizes serious and continued exertion of effort, sometimes aimed at dutiful or socially appropriate behavior: to endeavor to fulfill one's obligations. Strive, stresses persistent, vigorous, even strenuous effort, often in the face of obstacles: to strive to overcome a handicap.
Usage note
10. Try followed by and instead of to has been in standard use since the 17th century: The Justice Department has decided to try and regulate jury-selection practices. The construction occurs only with the base form try, not with tries or tried or trying. EXPANDAlthough some believe that try and is less formal than try to, both patterns occur in all types of speech and writing
COLLAPSE
10. Try followed by and instead of to has been in standard use since the 17th century: The Justice Department has decided to try and regulate jury-selection practices. The construction occurs only with the base form try, not with tries or tried or trying. EXPANDAlthough some believe that try and is less formal than try to, both patterns occur in all types of speech and writing
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Tried
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
try
c.1300, "examine judiciously, sit in judgment of," from Anglo-Fr. trier (late 13c.), from O.Fr. trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from Gallo-Romance *triare, of unknown origin. The ground sense is "separate out (the good) by examination." Meaning "to test" is first recorded mid-14c.; that of "attempt
EXPANDto do" is from early 14c. Sense of "to subject to some strain" (of patience, endurance, etc.) is recorded from 1530s. Trying "distressing" is first attested 1718. Try-out "trial of skill or ability" first recorded 1903. To try (something) on for size in the figurative sense is recorded from 1956.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
Try abbr.
tryptophan
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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