# trial

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɹaɪəl/ · frequency rank #1,441

## Definitions
1. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
2. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
3. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
4. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
5. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
6. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
7. An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are.
8. A meeting or series of meetings in a court of law at which evidence is presented to a judge (and sometimes a jury) to allow them to decide on a legal matter (especially whether an accused person is guilty of a crime).
9. A difficult or annoying experience or person; (especially religion) such an experience seen as a test of faith and piety.
10. The action of trying (to do) something, especially more than once. (This sense is still current in the expression trial and error.)

## Etymology
From Middle English trial, triall, from Anglo-Norman trial, triel, from trier (“to pick out, cull”) + -al. More at English try.

## Easily confused with
- **trip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trip)
- **trio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trio)
- **trim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trim)
- **tris** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-tris)
- **trig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trig)
- **tried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-tried)
- **tries** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-tries)
- **trick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trick)
- **trips** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trips)
- **tribe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-tribe)
- **troll** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-troll)
- **Trish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trish)
- **Tripp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-tripp)
- **trier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trier)
- **trite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trite)
- **trill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trill)
- **tripe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-tripe)
- **twirl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-twirl)
- **tubal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-tubal)
- **trials** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trial-vs-trials)

## Common misspellings (6)
`rtial`, `tiral`, `triall`, `trila`, `trrial`, `ttrial`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/trial