on trial meaning, on trial definition | English Cobuild dictionary

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trial
( trials plural )

1 n-var A trial is a formal meeting in a law court, at which a judge and jury listen to evidence and decide whether a person is guilty of a crime.
New evidence showed the police lied at the trial..., He's awaiting trial in a military court on charges of plotting against the state..., They believed that his case would never come to trial.

2 n-var A trial is an experiment in which you test something by using it or doing it for a period of time to see how well it works. If something is on trial , it is being tested in this way.
They have been treated with this drug in clinical trials..., The robots have been on trial for the past year...

3       n-count   If someone gives you a trial for a job, or if you are on trial   , you do the job for a short period of time to see if you are suitable for it.
usu sing, also on N
He had just given a trial to a young woman who said she had previous experience...

4       n-count   If you refer to the trialsof a situation, you mean the unpleasant things that you experience in it.
usu pl, N of n
...the trials of adolescence.

5       n-count   In some sports or outdoor activities, trials are a series of contests that test a competitor's skill and ability.
usu pl, supp N
He has been riding in horse trials for less than a year., ...Dovedale Sheepdog Trials.

6    If you do something bytrial and error, you try several different methods of doing it until you find the method that works properly.
♦ trial and error      phrase   oft by/through PHR
Many drugs were found by trial and error...

7    If someone is on trial   , they are being tried in a court of law.
♦ on trial             phrase   v-link PHR, PHR after v
He is currently on trial accused of serious drugs charges...

8    If you say that someone or something is on trial   , you mean that they are in a situation where people are observing them to see whether they succeed or fail.
♦ on trial             phrase   v-link PHR, PHR after v
The President will be drawn into a damaging battle in which his credentials will be on trial.

9 If someone stands trial, they are tried in court for a crime they are accused of.
♦ to stand trial phrase V inflects, oft PHR for n

Translation English Cobuild Collins Dictionary

trial

n

1 assay, audition, check, dry run (informal) examination, experience, experiment, probation, proof, test, testing, test-run

2 contest, hearing, industrial tribunal, judicial examination, litigation, tribunal

3 attempt, crack (informal) effort, endeavour, go (informal) shot (informal) stab (informal) try, venture, whack (informal)

4 adversity, affliction, burden, cross to bear, distress, grief, hardship, hard times, load, misery, ordeal, pain, suffering, tribulation, trouble, unhappiness, vexation, woe, wretchedness

5 bane, bother, drag (informal) hassle (informal) irritation, nuisance, pain in the arse (taboo informal) pain in the neck (informal) pest, plague (informal) thorn in one's flesh, vexation
adj

6 experimental, exploratory, pilot, probationary, provisional, testing

English Collins Dictionary - English synonyms & Thesaurus

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