Word.ws English Dictionary

trials

Syllables: tri·als/ˈtɹaɪəlz/

trials is the plural of trial.

trials is the third-person singular simple present indicative of trial.

Meaning of trial

Noun

trial (plural trials)

  1. 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
    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.

See all 18 meanings of trial

Phrases with trials

9 more phrasesFewer phrases

Questions about trials

What is trials the plural of?
Trials is the plural of trial.
How do you pronounce trials?
Trials is pronounced /ˈtɹaɪəlz/.

Words near trials in the dictionary

  1. triallyl
  2. trialog
  3. trialogs
  4. trialogue
  5. trialogues
  6. trials
  7. trials and errors
  8. trials and tribulations
  9. trials by combat
  10. trials by fire
  11. trials by media

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: trials (page history and authors); trial (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: “trials.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trials. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.