attempt
/əˈtɛmpt/
attempt verb: to try.
Verb
attempt (third-person singular simple present attempts, present participle attempting, simple past and past participle attempted)
- To try.
- to attempt an escape from prison
- I attempted to sing, but my throat was too hoarse.
- To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.
- Yet since I see you fearful, that neither my coat, integrity, nor persuasion can with ease attempt you, I will go further than I meant, to pluck all fears out of you.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- It made the laughter of an afternoon / That Vivien should attempt the blameless king.1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Vivien”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 102
- To try to win, subdue, or overcome.
- one who attempts the virtue of a woman
- Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further: / Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force.
- to attempt the enemy’s camp
- without attempting his adversary’s life1830, John Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic
- To make a substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).
- Whoever takes a direct and immediate step towards the realisation of the offence as envisaged by them attempts to commit an offence.2021, “German Criminal Code”, in gesetze-im-internet.de
Noun
attempt (plural attempts)
- The action of trying at something.
- We made an attempt to cross the stream, but didn’t manage.
- This poem is much better than the feeble attempt of mine.
- An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt.
- No man can charge us of any attempt against the realm.1584, Allen’s Defence Of English Catholics, cited after Edinburgh Review 1883, page 378
- A substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).
- Whoever voluntarily abandons the further commission of the offence or prevents its completion incurs no penalty for attempt.2021, “German Criminal Code”, in gesetze-im-internet.de
- An act of trying to commit suicide
- Her attempt was not successful, and resulted in her being hospitalized.
attempt meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
attempt in Hindi
- to try
- कोशिश करना kośiś karnā
- the action of trying at something
- प्रयास prayās, प्रयत्न prayatna, कोशिश kośiś
attempt in Tamil
- முயற்சி, முயல், முயற்சிசெய், முற்படு
attempt in Marathi
- attempt, endeavor, effort
- प्रयत्न prayatna
attempt in Urdu
- to try
- کوشش کرنا kośiś karnā
- the action of trying at something
- کوشِش kośiś
More languagesFewer languages
- attempt in Bengali
- কোশেশ kōśeś
- attempt in Telugu
- ప్రయత్నించు prayatniñcu, ప్రయత్నం prayatnaṁ
- attempt in Malayalam
- ശ്രമിക്കുക śramikkuka, പരിശ്രമിക്കുക pariśramikkuka, ശ്രമം śramaṁ, പരിശ്രമം pariśramaṁ
- attempt in Kannada
- ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ prayatna
- attempt in Punjabi
- کوشش kośiś, ਕੋਸ਼ਿਸ਼ kośiś
- attempt in Sanskrit
- ईहति ī́hati
- attempt in Assamese
- চেষ্টা sesta
- attempt in Arabic
- حَاوَلَ ḥāwala, مُحَاوَلَة muḥāwala
- attempt in Malay
- percubaan
- attempt in Indonesian
- berupaya, berusaha, coba, mencoba
- attempt in Persian
- کوشش کردن kušeš kardan
- attempt in Thai
- พยายาม pá-yaa-yaam, ความพยายาม kwaam-pá-yaa-yaam, การพยายาม gaan-pá-yaa-yaam
- attempt in Vietnamese
- cố gắng, sự thử
- attempt in Myanmar
- ကြိုးစားမှု krui:ca:hmu.
Examples of attempt in a sentence
- A group of 80 budding mountaineers attempted Kilimanjaro, but 30 of them didn’t make it to the top.
- Although it's hard to get right, please attempt to do so.
- It was worth the attempt.
- No matter how many failed attempts we made, we maintained a positive attitude and tried again and again until we succeeded.
- Something attempted, something done, / Has earned a night's repose.1842, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Village Blacksmith:
- Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers.2013 July-August, Sarah Glaz, “Ode to Prime Numbers”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
Synonyms of attempt
Forms of attempt
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | attempts |
| present participle | attempting |
| past participle | attempted |
| past | attempted |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | attemptest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | attemptedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | attempteth |
| Noun | |
| plural | attempts |
Origin of attempt
Late 14th century, as Middle English attempten, from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō (“to try, solicit”), from ad- (“to”) + temptō; see tempt. The noun is from the 1530s, the sense "an assault on somebody's life, assassination attempt" (French attentat) is from 1580. By surface analysis, at- + tempt.
Words formed from attempt
Words that rhyme with attempt
Questions about attempt
- What does attempt mean?
- Attempt means to try.
- What is attempt in Hindi?
- Attempt in Hindi is कोशिश करना (kośiś karnā), प्रयास (prayās), प्रयत्न (prayatna). See Attempt meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use attempt in a sentence?
- A group of 80 budding mountaineers attempted Kilimanjaro, but 30 of them didn’t make it to the top.
- What part of speech is attempt?
- Attempt can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce attempt?
- Attempt is pronounced /əˈtɛmpt/.
- What is the past tense of attempt?
- The past tense of attempt is attempted.
Words near attempt in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: attempt (page history and authors); attempt (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); प्रयत्न (Marathi) (page history and authors); ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ (Kannada) (page history and authors); کوشش (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ईहति (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); চেষ্টা (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “attempt.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/attempt. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.