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PlainSpell

try

/tɹaɪ/verb, noun

try is spelled T-R-Y: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 316 times per million words in written English, the 298th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, try means “To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in try?

Letters3: T-R-Y
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing316 times per million words; the 298th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is try?

Try appears 316 times per million words in written English, the 298th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce try?

  • /tɹaɪ/
  • [t͡ʃɹaɪ̯]
  • [tɹ̝̊aɪ̯]

Try has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-to_try.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-try.wav, En-us-try.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with try

Also written: trie.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of try

  • tries present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • trying participle, present
  • tried participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • more try comparative
  • most try superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does try mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive.

    I tried to rollerblade, but I couldn’t.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo separate (precious metal etc.) from the ore by melting; to purify, refine.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo winnow; to sift; to pick out; frequently followed by out.

    to try out the wild corn from the good

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo extract oil from blubber or fat; to melt down blubber to obtain oil

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo extract wax from a honeycomb

  6. 6

    To make an experiment. Usually followed by a present participle.

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

  7. 7

    To put to test.

    I shall try my skills on this.

  8. 8

    To test someone's patience.

    You are trying my patience.

noun

  1. 1

    An attempt.

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

  2. 2

    An act of tasting or sampling.

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

  3. 3

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

    Today I scored my first try.

  4. 4

    UKobsoleteA screen, or sieve, for grain.

  5. 5

    A field goal or extra point

  6. 6

    A move that almost solves a chess problem, except that Black has a unique defense.

  7. 7

    A block of code that may trigger exceptions the programmer expects to catch, usually demarcated by the keyword try.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteFine, excellent.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Try in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchessayer, tâcher, tenter (to attempt), tentative, essai (an attempt)
Germanversuchen (to attempt), Versuch (an attempt), probieren, experimentieren, testen (to make an experiment), sich befassen (to work on something)
Portuguesetentar (to attempt), tentativa (an attempt), experimentar, provar (to make an experiment), esforçar-se (to work on something), testar (to put to test)
Spanishintentar, tratar de, ver de, hacer todo lo posible, hacer su mejor esfuerzo (to attempt), intento (an attempt)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does try come from?

From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after try