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trial
[ trahy-uhl, trahyl ]
noun
- Law.
- the examination before a judicial tribunal of the facts put in issue in a cause, often including issues of law as well as those of fact.
- the determination of a person's guilt or innocence by due process of law.
- the act of trying, testing, or putting to the proof.
Synonyms: examination
- test; proof.
Synonyms: examination
- an attempt or effort to do something.
- a tentative or experimental action in order to ascertain results; experiment.
Synonyms: examination
- the state or position of a person or thing being tried or tested; probation.
- subjection to suffering or grievous experiences; a distressed or painful state:
comfort in the hour of trial.
Synonyms: hardship, trouble, sorrow, distress, tribulation, grief
- an affliction or trouble.
- a trying, distressing, or annoying thing or person.
- Ceramics. a piece of ceramic material used to try the heat of a kiln and the progress of the firing of its contents.
adjective
- of, relating to, or employed in a trial.
- done or made by way of trial, proof, or experiment.
- used in testing, experimenting, etc.
- acting or serving as a sample, experimental specimen, etc.:
a trial offer.
trial
1/ ˈtraɪəl /
noun
- a grammatical number occurring in some languages for words in contexts where exactly three of their referents are described or referred to
- modifier relating to or inflected for this number
trial
2/ ˈtraɪəl; traɪl /
noun
- the act or an instance of trying or proving; test or experiment
- ( as modifier )
a trial run
- law
- the judicial examination of the issues in a civil or criminal cause by a competent tribunal and the determination of these issues in accordance with the law of the land
- the determination of an accused person's guilt or innocence after hearing evidence for the prosecution and for the accused and the judicial examination of the issues involved
- ( as modifier )
trial proceedings
- an effort or attempt to do something
we had three trials at the climb
- trouble or grief
- an annoying or frustrating person or thing
- often plural a competition for individuals
sheepdog trials
- a motorcycling competition in which the skills of the riders are tested over rough ground
- ceramics a piece of sample material used for testing the heat of a kiln and its effects
- on trialon trial
- undergoing trial, esp before a court of law
- being tested, as before a commitment to purchase
verb
- tr to test or make experimental use of (something)
the idea has been trialled in several schools
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Derived Forms
- ˈtrialling, noun
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Other Words From
- inter·trial adjective
- non·trial noun
- post·trial adjective
- re·trial noun
- self-trial noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of trial1
Origin of trial2
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Idioms and Phrases
- on trial,
- undergoing examination before a judicial tribunal.
- undergoing a probationary or trial period.
More idioms and phrases containing trial
- on trial
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
There are about 36,000 digital marketing agencies worldwide, based on our research on platforms like UpCity, Clutch, and our trials and users.
Multiple companies are reporting positive results from their phase 1 trials.
Prior to the trial, the Financial Conduct Authority said policies held by around 370,000 customers could be affected.
AstraZeneca’s clinical trial hold stemmed from adverse events and may well proceed into further clinical development.
We never did a trial that half the people were randomized to get them and half were not.
Meanwhile, almost exactly 30 years after the trial, the judge left his home to board a steamboat and was never heard from again.
Seventy-two adults between the ages of 18 and 50 are participating in the trial, led by the pediatrics department at Oxford.
The next phase of the trial consists of vaccinating Ebola workers on the front lines.
He lambasts the case as without evidence, an unfair trial, and damaging for the American reputation.
While in pre-trial detention, Krivov undertook two hunger strikes.
The challenge was accepted and the hay-wagon driven round and the trial commenced.
No doubt it will be a trial for Miss Rowan, but I think she would feel better to have her father buried here.
He consented to the trial, receiving Planner's solemn promise that, in the event of failure, it should be the last.
British parliament passed an act for transporting Americans to England for trial.
Receiving small encouragement in England, he applied to sugar-cane planters to give his engines a trial in the West Indies.
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Related Words
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More About Trial
What does trial mean?
In general, a trial is a test or an experiment.
Most commonly, the word refers to a criminal trial in a courtroom before a judge and jury. It is also often used in a scientific context to refer to things like clinical trials and drug trials. It can also refer to a hardship. It is commonly used in phrases like trial and error and trial by fire. It is most commonly used as a noun but it can also be used as an adjective and a verb.
Example: There are 500 people participating in our research trial for a new heart medication.
Where does trial come from?
The first records of trial come from the 1500s. It comes from the Anglo-French trier, meaning “to try” (the word try comes from the same term).
In a general sense, a trial of something is a test of it. This sense is seen in the common phrase trial and error, which refers to a process of continually trying or testing something, making mistakes, and trying and testing it again until you get it right. If you decide to test something out for a limited amount of time, you do so with a trial run or during a trial period.
Trial can be used to describe an ordeal or situation that subjects someone to trying times, testing their strength or endurance, as in the expression trials and tribulations. A trial by fire is a test of one’s abilities under pressure.
A trial by jury is also a kind of test, and if you’re the one on trial, you’ll need a trial lawyer. In a scientific context, a clinical trial is an investigation of a new medical treatment to see if it will work in humans. Pharmaceutical trials and drug trials test whether new medicines are safe and effective. Such medicines are said to be in the process of being trialled.
Athletes in certain sports must compete against other athletes in trials in order to qualify for a competition. This sense is seen in phrases like Olympic trial and time trial.
Trial has many other specific meanings but they all deal with testing something, trying something out temporarily, or performing an experiment.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to trial?
- intertrial (adjective)
- mistrial (noun)
- nontrial (noun)
- posttrial (adjective)
- retrial (noun)
What are some synonyms for trial?
What are some words that share a root or word element with trial?
What are some words that often get used in discussing trial?
How is trial used in real life?
The main uses of trial—legal trials, scientific trials, and personal trials—are usually seen in a serious context.
to whoever stole my umbrella during #jpm18: may your next clinical trial fail to be statistically significant
— Stephanie M. Lee (@stephaniemlee) January 9, 2018
On June 19th, 1999 I got hit by a van while taking a walk. As I lay unconscious in the hospital, the docs debated amputating my right leg and decided it could stay, on a trial basis. I got better. Every day of the 20 years since has been a gift.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 19, 2019
Lady in public lane: you’re very good at swimming you know..
Me: erm, thanks
Lady: no seriously, you should try and do a trial with the county club!
Me: erm, well I actually went to a couple of Olympics..
Lady: me too! Which sports did you get manage to get tickets for?
🤔
— Lizzie Simmonds (@LizzieSimmonds1) March 10, 2018
Try using trial!
True or False?
Trial can only be used as a noun.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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