| experimentation or investigation in which various methods or means are tried and faulty ones eliminated in order to find the correct solution or to achieve the desired result or effect. |
| trial and error n. A method of reaching a correct solution or satisfactory result by trying out various means or theories until error is sufficiently reduced or eliminated. tri'al-and-er'ror (trī'əl-ən-ěr'ər, trīl'-) adj. |
To “proceed by trial and error” is to experiment, rejecting what does not work and adopting what does.
trial and error
An attempt to accomplish something by trying various means until the correct one is found. for example, The only way to solve this problem is by trial and error. The error here alludes to the failed means or attempts, which are discarded until the right way is found. [c. 1800]