trial

Syllables: tri·al/ˈtɹaɪəl/

trial noun: an occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.

Noun (1)

trial (plural trials)

An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
- all thy vexations / Were but my trials of thy love and thou / Hast strangely stood the test herec. 1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act IV, Scene 1
- had my powers been less limited, I might have enforced obedience; but as it was, it was but a trial of strength between her and me, in which she generally came off victorious1847, Anne Brontë, chapter 3, in Agnes Grey, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, page 51
Synonyms:

test
1. The testing of a product or procedure.
  - They will perform the trials for the new equipment next week.
2. (research) A research study to test the effectiveness and safety of a drug, medical procedure, etc.
  - A randomized, controlled trial (RCT).
3. An event in which athletes’ or animals’ abilities are tested as they compete for a place on a team, or to move on to the next level of a championship, for example.
  - soccer trials; sheepdog trials
4. A piece of ware used to test the heat of a kiln.
5. (UK) An internal examination set by Eton College.
6. (archaic) An occasion on which armies or individuals meet in combat.
  - In both your armies there is many a soul / Shall pay full dearly for this encounter, / If once they join in trial.c. 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1, Act V, Scene 1
A meeting or series of meetings in a court of law at which evidence is presented to a judge (and sometimes a jury) to allow them to decide on a legal matter (especially whether an accused person is guilty of a crime).
- If you are convicted at trial, you have the right to file an appeal.
- He was charged with war crimes and brought to trial before the International Tribunal.
Synonyms:

court case
A difficult or annoying experience or person; (especially religion) such an experience seen as a test of faith and piety.
- That boy was a trial to his parents.
- That they are Cowards, many have said, but few have found it so in the time of Trial.1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress, London: Nath. Ponder, page 172
(archaic) The action of trying (to do) something, especially more than once. (This sense is still current in the expression trial and error.)
- Finding my first Seed did not grow, which I easily imagin’d was by the Drought, I sought for a moister Piece of Ground to make another Trial in,1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, London: W. Taylor, page 123
- He summoned up all his strength for one last trial, and bent his faltering steps towards [the house].1839, Charles Dickens, chapter 28, in Oliver Twist, volume 2, London: Richard Bentley, page 144
Synonyms:

attempt, try

Adjective (1)

trial (not comparable)

Pertaining to a trial or test.
Attempted on a provisional or experimental basis.

Verb

trial (third-person singular simple present trials, present participle (US) trialing or (UK) trialling, simple past and past participle (US) trialed or (UK) trialled)

(transitive) To carry out a series of tests on (a new product, procedure etc.) before marketing or implementing it.
- The warning system was extensively trialed before being fitted to all our vehicles.
- In the week beginning April 6, the company began trialling the new processes - these include greater spacing, split shifts, additional safety requirements and washing facilities.2020 April 22, “Network News: Bombardier resumes work at Derby Litchurch Lane”, in Rail, page 9
(transitive) To try out (a new player) in a sports team.
- The team trialled a new young goalkeeper in Saturday's match, with mixed results.

Adjective (2)

trial (not comparable)

Characterized by having three (usually equivalent) components.
Triple.
Pertaining to a language form referring to three of something, like people. (See Ambai language for an example.)
- No language has a trial number unless it has a dual.

Noun (2)

trial (plural trials)

The trial number.

trial meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

trial in Hindi

chance to test something out: परीक्षण parīkṣaṇ
meeting in a court of law: विचारण vicāraṇ
difficult experience: चुनौती cunautī, परीक्षा parīkṣā

trial in Tamil

நீதிமன்ற விசாரணை, ஒத்திகை, வெள்ளோட்டம், சோதனை, சான்று, துயரம்

trial in Urdu

chance to test something out: جانْچ jānc, آزْمَائِشْ āzmāiś
difficult experience: اِمْتِحان imtihān

trial in Bengali

trial: বিচার bicar

More languagesFewer languages

trial in Telugu: ఉద్దియ uddiya
trial in Malayalam: പരീക്ഷണം parīkṣaṇaṁ, വിചാരണ vicāraṇa, പരീക്ഷിക്കുക parīkṣikkuka
trial in Kannada: ಒರೆಹಚ್ಚುವಿಕೆ, ಒರೆಹೊತ್ತು, ತಾಲೀಮು, ವಿಚಾರಣೆ
trial in Punjabi: ਪਰੀਖਿਆ parīkhiā, ਜਾਂਚ jāñc
trial in Gujarati: ટ્રાયલ
trial in Sanskrit: परीक्षा parīkṣā
trial in Nepali: प्रयोग prayog
trial in Tagalog: paglilitis
trial in Arabic: تَجْرِبَة tajriba, مُحَاوَلَة muḥāwala, مُحَاكَمَة muḥākama
trial in Malay: percubaan, perbicaraan
trial in Indonesian: percobaan, uji coba, sidang, persidangan
trial in Persian: آزمایش âzmâyeš
trial in Thai: ไตรพจน์
trial in Vietnamese: thử nghiệm, phiên toà

Examples of trial in a sentence

The journalists have been held in custody for three years without trial.
Jama saw the sweaty, smelly work as a kind of test that, if passed, would entitle him to see his father, a trial of his worth as a son and as a man.2010, Nadifa Mohamed, Black Mamba Boy, Harper Collins, page 65:
as she hath / Been publicly accused, so shall she have / A just and open trialc. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […]...
She, after form of trial condemned to die on the scaffold, / Patiently met her doom at the foot of the statue of Justice.1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline, Boston: Ticknor, Part 3, p. 42:
[…] this case should never have come to trial.1960, Harper Lee, chapter 20, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia: Lippincott, page 215:

All 40 example sentences with trial

Synonyms of trial

All synonyms of trial

Forms of trial

Noun
plural	trials
Verb
third-person singular present	trials
present participle US	trialing
present participle UK	trialling
past participle US	trialed
past US	trialed
past participle UK	trialled
past UK	trialled

Plural of trial: trials

Origin of trial

From Middle English trial, triall, from Anglo-Norman trial, triel, from trier (“to pick out, cull”) + -al. More at English try.

From Latin tri- (stem of trēs (“three”)) + -al, on the pattern of dual.

Phrases with trial

11 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with trial

2 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about trial

What does trial mean?: Trial means an occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
What is trial in Hindi?: Trial in Hindi is परीक्षण (parīkṣaṇ), विचारण (vicāraṇ), चुनौती (cunautī). See Trial meaning in Hindi.
How do you use trial in a sentence?: The journalists have been held in custody for three years without trial.
What part of speech is trial?: Trial can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
How do you pronounce trial?: Trial is pronounced /ˈtɹaɪəl/.
What is the plural of trial?: The plural of trial is trials.

Words near trial in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: trial (page history and authors); trial (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); বিচার (Bengali) (page history and authors); ఉద్దియ (Telugu) (page history and authors); trial (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਜਾਂਚ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); trial (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); प्रयोग (Nepali) (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-trial.ogg.

Cite this entry: “trial.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trial. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.