trial

«trial» in Mova's school dictionary: when a court, with a judge and often a jury, decides if… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a trial, trials)

meaning for a pupil

1) A trial is when a court, with a judge and often a jury, decides if someone is guilty of a crime. tree →

2) A trial is a test to see how good, useful or safe something is. tree →

3) A trial is a try-out for a sports team. tree →

4) A trial is something difficult or annoying you have to put up with. tree →

5) «Trial and error» means trying different ways until one works. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons, a trial is one go of an experiment; scientists repeat trials and take an average to make results more reliable. In maths, «trial and improvement» is guessing, checking and getting closer to the answer. In history and citizenship, a fair trial is an important right. Phrases: «on trial», «trial and error», «free trial», «trials and tribulations».

examples

• The thief went on trial today. tree →
• We did three trials and took the average. tree →
• She went to the football trials and got in the team. tree →
• We found the answer by trial and error. tree →
• The new medicine is being tested in trials. tree →
• The app has a free seven-day trial. tree →
• Looking after the puppy was a real trial. tree →
• The jury listened carefully during the trial. tree →
• Now the trial was to take place. tree →

note

Countable: a trial, trials. Spelling: trial, not «tryal». In science, more trials make results more reliable; if one trial result is far from the others, it may be an anomaly. Be careful with «free trial» offers online: ask an adult, as they often start charging money later.

In the corpora

• A subscription keeps taking money every month until it is cancelled, and free trials often turn into payments.
• Sheepdog trials are real competitions where dog and shepherd move sheep through gates and into a pen.
• In the middle of the trial Alice feels a curious sensation: she is growing again.
• "Detainee" means a prisoner, often held without trial (never judged in a court).
• Always ask a parent before a «free trial» that wants a card number; free trials often turn into paid subscriptions.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «trial» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.