trial

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtrʌɪəl/

noun

  • 1a formal examination of evidence by a judge, typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings: the newspaper accounts of the trial [mass noun]: the editor was summoned to stand trial for libel
  • 2a test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something: clinical trials must establish whether the new hip replacements are working
  • a sports match to test the ability of players eligible for selection to a team: he cracked his ankle the week before the final trial
  • a test of individual ability on a motorcycle over rough ground or on a road.
  • (trials) an event in which horses, dogs, or other animals compete or perform: horse trials
  • 3a person, experience, or situation that tests a person’s endurance or forbearance: the trials and tribulations of married life

verb (trials, trialling, trialled; US trials, trialing, trialed)

  • 1 [with object] test (something, especially a new product) to assess its suitability or performance: teachers all over the UK are trialling the materials
  • 2 [no object] (of a horse, dog, or other animal) compete in trials: the pup trialled on Saturday

Phrases

on trial

  • 1being tried in a court of law: two men have gone on trial for the murder
  • 2being tested for performance or suitability: water metering has been on trial in England and Wales

trial and error

the process of experimenting with various methods of doing something until one finds the most successful: pupils learn by trial and error [as modifier]: analyses conducted on a trial-and-error basis

Origin:

late Middle English (as a noun): from Anglo-Norman French, or from medieval Latin triallum. The verb dates from the 1980s

Spelling rule

Double the l when adding endings which begin with a vowel to words which end in a vowel plus l (as in travel): (trials, trialling, trialled).