tried

Tr ie d is the past tense and past participle of the verb to try. Its primary senses are to attempt or make an effort to do something, and to test or examine something by experience or experiment. The word can also mean to subject someone or something to a trial or examination, such as in legal contexts or quality testing.

As a regular verb, its principal forms are try, tried, trying, and tries. The past tense and past participle are both tried, formed by adding -ed to the base form. The present participle or gerund is trying, and the third-person singular present tense is tries. These forms allow standard English tense construction, such as “I try,” “She tried,” or “They have tried.”

Usage and idioms are broad. Examples include “I tried to fix it,” “The committee has tried several approaches,” and “The soup has been tried and found lacking” (a less common phrasing). The phrase “to give something a try” means to attempt it, while “try one’s patience” describes causing irritation or endurance. The compound adjective “tried and true” denotes something that has proven dependable through experience. In legal and formal contexts, “to try” a case refers to bringing it before a court for adjudication, as in “The case was tried yesterday.”

Etymology-wise, the word is of Germanic origin, with cognates attested in other Germanic languages and Old English, reflecting its long-standing role in expressing effort, testing, and judgment.