trial meaning

Noun: trial  trIul

1. The act of testing something
   "in the experimental trials the amount of carbon was measured separately"; "he called each flip of the coin a new trial"
   - test, run 
2. Trying something to find out about it
   "a sample for ten days free trial"; "a trial of progesterone failed to relieve the pain"
   - trial run, test, tryout, dummy run [Brit] 
3. The act of undergoing testing
   "candidates must compete in a trial of skill"
   - test 
4. (law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law
   "he had a fair trial and the jury found him guilty"; "most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial" 
5. (sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications
   "the trials for the semifinals began yesterday" 
6. An annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
   "his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him"
   - tribulation, visitation

Verb: trial (trialled,trialling, or [US] trialed,trialing)  trIul

1. Put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to
   - test, prove, try, try out, examine, essay

Derived forms: trials, trialling, trialled, trialing

See also: try

Type of: affliction, attempt, competition, contest, effort, endeavor [US], endeavour [Brit, Cdn], evaluate, experiment, experimentation, judge, legal proceeding, pass judgment, proceeding, proceedings, try

Encyclopedia: Trial

[Business]
noun, verb

■ noun

BLIND TRIAL, CLINICAL TRIAL, FREE TRIAL, MINI-TRIAL

1 [C]

the process of testing the quality or performance of a product to see if it will be effective or successful:

The new drug is undergoing early-stage clinical trials.

❖ early-stage/initial/late-stage/mid-stage trials

◆ drug/safety trials

◆ to carry out/conduct/run/take part in/undergo trials

2 [C,U]

the process of using a product or service, employing a person, etc. for a short period before you make a decision about it or them:

You can give the service a trial before you make up your mind.

The system was introduced on a trial basis for six months.

She agreed to employ me for a trial period.

We had the machine on trial for a week.

3 [U,C]

a formal examination of evidence in a court by a judge and often a jury, to decide if sb accused of a crime is guilty or not:

The former CEO is to stand trial for fraud.

The judge will rule whether the case should go to trial.

❖ to await/face/go on/stand trial

◆ to come to/go to trial

IDIOMS

trial and error

the process of solving a problem by trying various methods until you find a method that is successful:

Everything I know about computers I learned through trial and error.

■ verb [+ obj] (-ll-, BrE, AmE -l-) (especially BrE)

to test the quality or performance of a product to see if it will be effective or successful:

They trialled the product with 20 of their best customers.

Only one in ten drugs which are trialled on humans makes it to the market.

trialling noun [U]

[Law]
n. The hearing of a civil or criminal case before a court of competent jurisdiction. Trials must, with rare exceptions (see IN CAMERA), be held in public. At the trial all issues of law and fact arising in the case will be determined. See also SUMMARY TRIAL; TRIAL ON INDICTMENT.

[Medicine]
n
1 : a tryout or experiment to test quality, value, or usefulness ‹a clinical trial of a drug›
2 : one of a number of repetitions of an experiment

Examples

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1. they went through the mockery of a trial.
2. the case will come on for trial tomorrow.
3. the full story came out at the trial.
4. i must have been a trial to them too.
5. the official trial of the ship was run.