Trial

/ˈtɹaɪəl/ · noun

Meaning

An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are..

Definitions by Sense

1. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
2. (law) 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).
3. A difficult or annoying experience or person; (especially religion) such an experience seen as a test of faith and piety.
4. (archaic) The action of trying (to do) something, especially more than once. (This sense is still current in the expression trial and error.)
5. Pertaining to a trial or test.
6. Attempted on a provisional or experimental basis.
7. (transitive) To carry out a series of tests on (a new product, procedure etc.) before marketing or implementing it.
8. (transitive) To try out (a new player) in a sports team.

Example Sentences

all thy vexations / Were but my trials of thy love and thou / Hast strangely stood the test here

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 victorious

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.

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.

The journalists have been held in custody for three years without trial.

2020, Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown, New York: Pantheon, Act VI, Your Honor, we object to all of this. The whole thing. This mock trial. The entire justice system is rigged against my client.

as she hath / Been publicly accused, so shall she have / A just and open trial

Synonyms for trial

Antonyms for trial

Related Words

Word Forms

• trials
• trialing
• trialling
• trialed
• trialled

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions