trial
Formal court examination
A meeting in court where a judge and sometimes a jury decide if someone did something wrong.
[someone] is on trial for [crime]
- The trial lasted for three weeks before the jury reached a verdict.
- She is currently on trial for fraud.
- The high-profile trial attracted national media coverage.
- He was denied a fair trial due to biased jurors.
- The trial will start next week.
- He is on trial for robbery.
- The judge will lead the trial.
Test before full use
A short time to try something to see if it works well.
[something] is on trial
- The new software is available for a 30-day free trial.
- They conducted a clinical trial to test the new drug.
- We are doing a trial run of the new system.
- You can use the app for a free trial.
- The team will do a trial of the machine.
- They had a trial run before the big show.
Hard test of endurance
A hard time that tests your strength or patience.
- Losing his job was a real trial for him.
- They faced many trials before achieving success.
- Her illness has been a severe trial for the whole family.
- The trip was a trial for us.
- He faced many trials in life.
- It was a hard trial for the team.
- Base: trial
- Plural: trial, trials
on trial
1Being judged in court
In the process of having a court decide if you did something wrong.
- The politician is on trial for corruption.
- She has been on trial since last month.
put on trial
1Begin court process against someone
To make someone go to court to decide if they are guilty.
- The activist was put on trial for leading protests.
- He was put on trial after the investigation ended.
stand trial
1Appear in court for charges
To go to court to be judged for a crime.
- He will stand trial for theft next month.
- Many refused to stand trial and fled the country.
trial run
1Short test before full use
A short test to see if something works well before using it fully.
- We did a trial run of the presentation yesterday.
- The new train had its first trial run this morning.
trial and error
1Learning by trying and failing
A way to solve problems by trying different things and learning from mistakes until you find what works.
- Learning to cook often involves trial and error.
- We learned to fix the engine through trial and error.
- We found the best design through trial and error.
- Cooking well often comes from trial and error.
trial and error
2Problem-solving by repeated attempts
Trying many times and learning from mistakes until you find the right way.
- We learned how to fix the machine through trial and error.
- Cooking without a recipe is often trial and error.