Library / English Dictionary

TRY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: tried   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

Example:

she gave it a good try

Synonyms:

attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("try" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "try"):

test; trial (the act of undergoing testing)

run; test; trial (the act of testing something)

takeover attempt (an attempt to take control of a corporation)

battle; struggle (an energetic attempt to achieve something)

nisus; pains; strain; striving (an effortful attempt to attain a goal)

shot (an attempt to score in a game)

shot; stab (informal words for any attempt or effort)

seeking (an attempt to acquire or gain something)

power play; squeeze; squeeze play (an aggressive attempt to compel acquiescence by the concentration or manipulation of power)

mug's game (a futile or unprofitable endeavor)

liberation (the attempt to achieve equal rights or status)

contribution; part; share (the effort contributed by a person in bringing about a result)

foray (an initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence))

essay (a tentative attempt)

crack; fling; go; offer; pass; whirl (a usually brief attempt)

bid; play (an attempt to get something)

worst (the weakest effort or poorest achievement one is capable of)

best (the supreme effort one can make)

batting ((baseball) the batter's attempt to get on base)

Derivation:

try (make an effort or attempt)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put on a garment in order to see whether it fits and looks nice

Example:

Try on this sweater to see how it looks

Synonyms:

try; try on

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

assume; don; get into; put on; wear (put clothing on one's body)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They try the cape

Sense 2

Meaning:

Melt (fat or lard) in order to separate out impurities

Example:

render fat in a casserole

Synonyms:

render; try

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

melt; melt down; run (reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take a sample of

Example:

Sample the regional dishes

Synonyms:

sample; taste; try; try out

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

consume; have; ingest; take; take in (serve oneself to, or consume regularly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "try"):

degust (taste with relish)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They try more bread

Derivation:

trial (trying something to find out about it)

trier (one who tries)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Test the limits of

Example:

You are trying my patience!

Synonyms:

strain; stress; try

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

afflict (cause great unhappiness for; distress)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "try"):

rack (stretch to the limits)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Give pain or trouble to

Example:

I've been sorely tried by these students

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

anguish; hurt; pain (cause emotional anguish or make miserable)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot try Sue

Derivation:

trial (an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process

Example:

The case will be tried in California

Synonyms:

hear; try

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

examine; probe (question or examine thoroughly and closely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "try"):

rehear; retry (hear or try a court case anew)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

trier (one (as a judge) who examines and settles a case)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of

Example:

The judge tried both father and son in separate trials

Synonyms:

adjudicate; judge; try

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

decide; determine; make up one's mind (reach, make, or come to a decision about something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "try"):

court-martial (subject to trial by court-martial)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to try the prisoners

Derivation:

trial ((law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law)

trier (one (as a judge) who examines and settles a case)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Make an effort or attempt

Example:

She always seeks to do good in the world

Synonyms:

assay; attempt; essay; seek; try

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "try"):

pick up the gauntlet; take a dare (be dared to do something and attempt it)

fight; struggle (make a strenuous or labored effort)

give it a try; have a go (make an attempt at something)

grope (search blindly or uncertainly)

endeavor; endeavour; strive (attempt by employing effort)

give it a try; give it a whirl (try)

adventure; chance; gamble; hazard; risk; run a risk; take a chance; take chances (take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome)

lay on the line; put on the line; risk (expose to a chance of loss or damage)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They try to move

Also:

try out (put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to)

Derivation:

trier (one who tries)

try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to

Example:

Test this recipe

Synonyms:

essay; examine; prove; test; try; try out

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "try" is one way to...):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "try"):

control; verify (check or regulate (a scientific experiment) by conducting a parallel experiment or comparing with another standard)

float (circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with)

field-test (test something under the conditions under which it will actually be used)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

trial (the act of undergoing testing)

trier (one who tries)

Credits

 Context examples: 

They try to have a neighborhood feel.

(Nursing Homes, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

“And then you know”—twisting himself about and forcing a foolish laugh—“I say, then you know, we may try the truth of this same old song.”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Then he tried the various keys in the lock, but without success.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I went back to the room, and taking a lamp, tried all the doors.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“There were no time ago—they had the door bolted when I tried it. Scatter, lads, and find 'em.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The girls flew about, trying to make things comfortable, each in her own way.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The branch of psychobiology that tries to understand cognitive functioning, including intellectual, memory, and related neurocognitive processes, by understanding the way that genes, proteins, and molecules interact.

(Molecular Psychobiology, NCI Thesaurus)

He would try to make my children friendly to the little beggar: the darlings could not bear it, and he was angry with them when they showed their dislike.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Let us both try to forget it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Have you ever tried to find a friend in a large crowd?

(How the brain pays attention to faces and places, NIH)