• (America) enPR: trī, IPA: /tɹaɪ/, [tʰɹaɪ], [t̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷaɪ]
• (RP) enPR: trī, IPA: /tɹaɪ/

try

1. To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive.

   I tried to rollerblade, but I couldn’t.

   I'll come to dinner soon. I'm trying to beat this level first.

2. (obsolete) To divide; to separate.
   1. To separate (precious metal etc.) from the ore by melting; to purify, refine.
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.vii:

        euery feend his busie paines applide, / To melt the golden metall, ready to be tride.

   2. (one sort from another) To winnow; to sift; to pick out; frequently followed by out.

      to try out the wild corn from the good

   3. (nautical) To extract oil from blubber or fat; to melt down blubber to obtain oil
   4. To extract wax from a honeycomb
3. To test, to work out.
   1. To make an experiment. Usually followed by a present participle.

      I tried mixing more white paint to get a lighter shade.

   2. To put to test.

      I shall try my skills on this.

      • 1922, E. F. Benson, Miss Mapp, p. 89:

        “So mousie shall only find tins on the floor now,” thought Miss Mapp. “Mousie shall try his teeth on tins.”

   3. (specifically) To test someone's patience.

      You are trying my patience.

      Don't fucking try me.

   4. To taste, sample, etc.

      Try this—you’ll love it.

   5. To prove by experiment; to apply a test to, for the purpose of determining the quality; to examine; to prove; to test.

      to try weights or measures by a standard;  to try a person's opinions

      • c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene ii]:

        Let the end try the man.

   6. (legal) To put on trial.

      He was tried and executed.

      • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I:

        The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

      • 1987, Hadi Khorsandi, trans. Ehssan Javan, “It Didn’t Quite Work Out—2” in The Ayatollah and I:

        I sit in front of the mirror and try myself. I am no impartial judge, otherwise I would have had myself executed several times over by now.

4. To experiment, to strive.
   1. To have or gain knowledge of by experience.

      • Try the Libyan heat or Scythian cold.

   2. To work on something.

      You are trying too hard.

   3. (obsolete) To do; to fare.

      How do you try! (i.e., how do you do?)

   4. To settle; to decide; to determine; specifically, to decide by an appeal to arms.

      to try rival claims by a duel;  to try conclusions

      • 1591, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene iii]:

        Left I the court, to see this quarrel tried.

   5. (euphemism, of a couple) To attempt to conceive a child.
5. (nautical) To lie to in heavy weather under just sufficient sail to head into the wind.
6. To strain; to subject to excessive tests.

   The light tries his eyes.

   Repeated failures try one's patience.

7. (slang, chiefly AAVE, used with another verb) To want

   I am really not trying to hear you talk about my mama like that.

• (to attempt) attempt, endeavor, fand, mint, take a run at, take a stab at
• (to taste, sample, etc) sample, taste

• trial
• tried and tested
• tried and true
• trier

• French: essayer, tâcher, tenter
• German: versuchen
• Italian: cercare, tentare, provare
• Portuguese: tentar
• Russian: пыта́ться
• Spanish: intentar, tratar

• French: essayer, tâcher, tenter
• German: versuchen, probieren, experimentieren, testen
• Italian: provare
• Portuguese: tentar, experimentar, provar
• Russian: про́бовать
• Spanish: tratar, intentar

• French: s'efforcer
• German: sich befassen, sich beschäftigen mit
• Italian: cercare
• Portuguese: esforçar-se
• Russian: стара́ться
• Spanish: esforzarse

• French: tester
• German: testen, untersuchen, ausprobieren
• Italian: provare, testare
• Portuguese: testar
• Russian: про́бовать
• Spanish: probar

• French: essayer, goûter
• German: kosten, probieren, versuchen, verkosten
• Italian: assaggiare
• Portuguese: experimentar, provar
• Russian: про́бовать
• Spanish: probar

• French: traduire en justice
• German: den Prozess machen, vor Gericht stellen, vor Gericht verhandeln, anklagen
• Italian: mettere alla prova
• Portuguese: processar, autuar, acionar
• Russian: суди́ть
• Spanish: juzgar

try (plural tries)

1. An attempt.

   I gave unicycling a try but I couldn’t do it.

2. An act of tasting or sampling.

   I gave sushi a try but I didn’t like it.

3. (rugby) A score in rugby league and rugby union, analogous to a touchdown in American football.

   Today I scored my first try.

4. (UK, dialect, obsolete) A screen, or sieve, for grain.
5. (American football) a field goal or extra point

• (an attempt) bash, go, stab, whirl
• (an act of tasting or sampling) sampling, taste, tasting
• (a score in rugby) touchdown (American football)
• (the point after touchdown) extra point (American football)

• French: tentative, essai
• German: Versuch, Anlauf, Test, Probe
• Italian: tentativo, prova
• Portuguese: tentativa
• Russian: попы́тка
• Spanish: intento

• German: Probe, Verkostung
• Portuguese: teste, prova
• Russian: про́ба
• Spanish: prueba

• French: essai
• German: Versuch
• Italian: meta
• Portuguese: try, ensaio
• Spanish: try, ensayo (Spain)

try

1. (obsolete) Fine, excellent.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.2:

     But he her suppliant hands, those hands of gold, / And eke her feete, those feete of silver trye, […] Chopt off […].