What does trial mean?
Trial has several connected meanings, all involving putting something to the test. As a noun, it can refer to an experiment or examination, such as a clinical trial or a trial of a new product. In law, a trial is the formal proceeding in which evidence is presented and a decision is reached about guilt, liability, or responsibility. It can also describe an unpleasant experience that tests a person’s patience or endurance: a difficult period may be described as a trial. As a verb, trial means to test something experimentally or put someone through such an experience. The word is common in formal, professional, and legal registers, but it also appears in everyday expressions such as trial and error. Its range from routine experimentation to high-stakes judgment makes it useful whenever an idea, person, or institution is being assessed before a broader commitment is made.
An examination or test of something, especially a trial run, experiment, or clinical trial. Also a legal proceeding in which guilt or responsibility is determined, or a difficult experience that tests a person.
"The drug is undergoing a clinical trial."
In British and American legal usage, trial denotes the formal process of deciding a case; in medical and scientific contexts, it denotes a controlled test of a treatment or intervention.
To test or examine something experimentally, or to put someone or something through a difficult experience.
"The engineers trialled a quieter version of the engine before changing the standard design."
The verb is less common in everyday speech than the noun, but it is standard in technical, scientific, and professional contexts.
Relating to a test or trial, especially a preliminary or experimental use.
"The system is available as a trial version for thirty days."
This use is normally attributive, occurring before a noun such as period, version, run, or implementation.
The plural is used when referring to separate legal cases, hearings, experiments, or testing processes.
"The court scheduled three trials for the following week."
The same word can describe a routine experiment or a life-changing legal ordeal, turning the ordinary idea of trying something into something that sounds dramatic.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trial come from?
The word comes through Middle English from Anglo-French trial, a noun associated with trier, meaning “to try.” Its ultimate source is Latin, where the related verb triare referred to trying or testing, probably in the sense of processing or sorting material. English gradually developed the modern meanings of an attempt, an examination, a legal proceeding, and an experience that tests someone’s endurance.
Related word forms
How trial is actually used
In legal contexts, trial refers to the formal process of examining evidence and deciding a case, and is usually more specific than the general word proceedings. The noun can also mean a testing phase, as in a trial run or trial period, while the adjective is normally used before a noun rather than as a predicative adjective.
Easily confused with trial
Tried is the past-tense form of try, while trial is a noun meaning a test or legal proceeding and is also a verb meaning to test.