trial

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /ˈtraɪəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tri‧al

Noun

Singular trial

Plural trials

1. (countable) (law) A trial is a meeting in court with a judge where two sides explain their positions and the judge or jury makes a decision.

   He was taken to jail to await trial for murder.

   Jury selection in the trial began today.

   He's spending all that money on lawyers defending him at trial.

   His criminal trial is set to begin Monday.

   He was charged with murder and went on trial last week.

   Can a black man get a fair trial in Canada?

   The judge ruled that the trial would proceed on schedule.

   I am likely to be a witness in this trial.

   She will have to be back in court to stand trial again in about eight months.

2. (countable) A trial is a test to see if something works or not, especially in science.

   Several randomized clinical trials have shown that aspirin may reduce the risk of cancer.

   In at least one large controlled trial, researchers found no positive effect for the drug.

   Dr. Finkel is helping conduct the clinical trial.

3. (uncountable) Trial and error is the process of trying things and making mistakes as you learn something.

   There is some trial and error to finding the right solution.

4. (countable) (sports) A trial is a competition where the winners are chosen to move on to higher level competitions.

   She finishes in the top three at the Olympic trials in Toronto.

5. (countable) A trial is a difficult experience.

Synonyms

• test
• pain
• trouble
• assessment

Related words

• try
• trying

Verb

Plain form trial

Third-person singular trials

Past tense trialed

Past participle trialed

Present participle trialing

Plain form trial

Third-person singular trials

Past tense trialled

Past participle trialled

Present participle trialling

1. If you trial something, you test it to see if it works, especially in science.

Synonyms

• test
• try
• assess