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try
(redirected from I will try anything once)

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia 0.01 sec.
try  (tr)
v. tried (trd), try·ing, tries (trz)
v.tr.
1. To make an effort to do or accomplish (something); attempt: tried to ski.
2. To taste, sample, or otherwise test in order to determine strength, effect, worth, or desirability: Try this casserole. Try the door.
3. Law
a. To examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process.
b. To put (an accused person) on trial.
4. To subject to great strain or hardship; tax: The last steep ascent tried my every muscle.
5. To melt (lard, for example) to separate out impurities; render.
6. To smooth, fit, or align accurately.
v.intr.
To make an effort; strive.
n. pl. tries (trz)
1. An attempt; an effort.
2. Sports In Rugby, an act of advancing the ball past the opponent's goal line and grounding it there for a score of three points.
Phrasal Verbs:
try on
1. To don (a garment) to test its fit.
2. To test or use experimentally.
try out
1. To undergo a competitive qualifying test, as for a job or athletic team.
2. To test or use experimentally.
Idiom:
try (one's) hand
To attempt to do something for the first time: I tried my hand at skiing.

[Middle English trien, from Old French trier, to pick out, from Vulgar Latin *trire.]
Usage Note: The phrase try and is commonly used as a substitute for try to, as in Could you try and make less noise? A number of grammarians have labeled the construction incorrect. To be sure, the usage is associated with informal style and strikes an inappropriately conversational note in formal writing. Sixty-five percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use in writing of the sentence Why don't you try and see if you can work the problem out between yourselves?

try [traɪ]
vb tries, trying, tried
1. (when tr, may take an infinitive, sometimes with to replaced by and) to make an effort or attempt he tried to climb a cliff
2. (tr; often foll by out) to sample, test, or give experimental use to (something) in order to determine its quality, worth, etc. try her cheese flan
3. (tr) to put strain or stress on he tries my patience
4. (tr; often passive) to give pain, affliction, or vexation to: I have been sorely tried by those children
5. (Law)
a.  to examine and determine the issues involved in (a cause) in a court of law
b.  to hear evidence in order to determine the guilt or innocence of (an accused)
c.  to sit as judge at the trial of (an issue or person)
6. (Cookery) (tr) to melt (fat, lard, etc.) in order to separate out impurities
7. (Mining & Quarrying) (tr; usually foll by out) Obsolete to extract (a material) from an ore, mixture, etc., usually by heat; refine
n pl tries
1. an experiment or trial
2. an attempt or effort
3. (Team Sports / Rugby) Rugby the act of an attacking player touching the ball down behind the opposing team's goal line, scoring five or, in Rugby League, four points
4. (Team Sports / American Football) Also called try for a point American football an attempt made after a touchdown to score an extra point by kicking a goal or, for two extra points, by running the ball or completing a pass across the opponents' goal line
[from Old French trier to sort, sift, of uncertain origin]
Usage: The use of and instead of to after try is very common, but should be avoided in formal writing: we must try to prevent (not try and prevent) this happening

try


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