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trying
6 dictionary results for: trying
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
try·ing       [trahy-ing] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
extremely annoying, difficult, or the like; straining one's patience and goodwill to the limit: a trying day; a trying experience.
[Origin: 1570–80 for general sense; 1710–20 for current sense; try + -ing2]

—Related forms
try·ing·ly, adverb
try·ing·ness, noun

—Synonyms irritating, irksome, bothersome, vexing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
try       [trahy] Pronunciation Key verb, tried, try·ing, noun, plural tries.
–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 fol. 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.Law. 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 fol. by out).
9.Archaic.
a.to determine the truth or right of (a quarrel or question) by test or battle (sometimes fol. 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
12.an attempt or effort: to have a try at something.
13.Rugby. a score of three points earned by advancing the ball to or beyond the opponents' goal line.
—Verb phrases
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.try out for, to compete for (a position, membership, etc.): Over a hundred boys came to try out for the football team.
—Idioms
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, etc., 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, esp. with a member of the opposite sex: She avoided him after he'd tried it on with her.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME trien to try (a legal case) < AF trier, OF: to sift, cull, of uncert. orig.]

—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.
—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. Although some believe that try and is less formal than try to, both patterns occur in all types of speech and writing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
try       (trī)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   tried (trīd), try·ing, tries (trīz)

v.   tr.
  1. To make an effort to do or accomplish (something); attempt: tried to ski.
  2. To taste, sample, or otherwise test in order to determine strength, effect, worth, or desirability: Try this casserole. Try the door.
  3. Law
    1. To examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process.
    2. To put (an accused person) on trial.
  4. To subject to great strain or hardship; tax: The last steep ascent tried my every muscle.
  5. To melt (lard, for example) to separate out impurities; render.
  6. To smooth, fit, or align accurately.

v.   intr.
To make an effort; strive.

n.   pl. tries (trīz)
  1. An attempt; an effort.
  2. Sports In Rugby, an act of advancing the ball past the opponent's goal line and grounding it there for a score of three points.
  3. To don (a garment) to test its fit.
  4. To test or use experimentally.
  5. To undergo a competitive qualifying test, as for a job or athletic team.
  6. To test or use experimentally.

Phrasal Verb(s):
try on
  1. To don (a garment) to test its fit.
  2. To test or use experimentally.
try out
  1. To undergo a competitive qualifying test, as for a job or athletic team.
  2. To test or use experimentally.

Idiom(s):
try (one's) hand
To attempt to do something for the first time: I tried my hand at skiing.

[Middle English trien, from Old French trier, to pick out, from Vulgar Latin *triāre.]

Usage Note: The phrase try and is commonly used as a substitute for try to, as in Could you try and make less noise? A number of grammarians have labeled the construction incorrect. To be sure, the usage is associated with informal style and strikes an inappropriately conversational note in formal writing. Sixty-five percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use in writing of the sentence Why don't you try and see if you can work the problem out between yourselves?

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
try·ing       (trī'ĭng)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   Causing strain, hardship, or distress.

try'ing·ly adv.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
trying

adjective
1. hard to endure; "fell upon trying times" 
2. extremely irritating to the nerves; "nerve-racking noise"; "the stressful days before a war"; "a trying day at the office" [syn: nerve-racking] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Trying

Try"ing\, a. Adapted to try, or put to severe trial; severe; afflictive; as, a trying occasion or position.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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