try

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To make an effort to do something.

   I tried to rollerblade, but I couldn't.

2. 2
   verb

   To use or do something to find out if it works or if you like it.

   I tried mixing more white paint to get a lighter shade.

3. 3
   verb

   To test someone's patience or strength.

   The children's constant noise was really trying my patience.

Multiword verbs with try

• try for Prepositional verb A1

  to make an attempt to obtain, win, or gain entry to something competitive.

• try on Phrasal verb A1

  to put clothes on to check their fit or appearance

• try out Phrasal verb A1

  to test or use something for the first time in order to see whether it works or is suitable

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Try entered Middle English from Old French trier, meaning “to sift”; the same French word is also the source of trial.

From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”). Suggested to be derived from Late Latin *trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”), itself derived from Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”), the past particip…

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary