Meaning of TRIAL in English


transcription, транскрипция: [ traɪəl ]

( trials)

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.


A trial is a formal meeting in a law court, at which a judge and jury listen to evidence and decide whether a person is guilty of a crime.

New evidence showed the police lied at the trial...

He’s awaiting trial in a military court on charges of plotting against the state...

They believed that his case would never come to trial.



A trial is an experiment in which you test something by using it or doing it for a period of time to see how well it works. If something is on trial , it is being tested in this way.

They have been treated with this drug in clinical trials...

The robots have been on trial for the past year...



If someone gives you a trial for a job, or if you are on trial , you do the job for a short period of time to see if you are suitable for it.

He had just given a trial to a young woman who said she had previous experience...

N-COUNT : usu sing , also on N


If you refer to the trials of a situation, you mean the unpleasant things that you experience in it.

...the trials of adolescence.

N-COUNT : usu pl , N of n


In some sports or outdoor activities, trials are a series of contests that test a competitor’s skill and ability.

He has been riding in horse trials for less than a year.

...Dovedale Sheepdog Trials.

N-COUNT : usu pl , supp N


If you do something by trial and error , you try several different methods of doing it until you find the method that works properly.

Many drugs were found by trial and error...

PHRASE : oft by/through PHR


If someone is on trial , they are being tried in a court of law.

He is currently on trial accused of serious drugs charges...

PHRASE : v-link PHR , PHR after v


If you say that someone or something is on trial , you mean that they are in a situation where people are observing them to see whether they succeed or fail.

The President will be drawn into a damaging battle in which his credentials will be on trial.

PHRASE : v-link PHR , PHR after v


If someone stands trial , they are tried in court for a crime they are accused of.

PHRASE : V inflects , oft PHR for n
