trialnoun
uk/traɪəl/us/traɪəl/trial noun (LEGAL PROCESS)
B2 [ C or U ] the hearing of statements and showing of objects, etc. in a law court to judge if a person is guilty of a crime or to decide a case or a legal matter:
More examples
- Ten witnesses are expected to testify at the trial today.
- The judge reacted angrily to the suggestion that it hadn't been a fair trial.
- The terrorists were put on trial six years after the bombing.
- After the trial, his family said they had lost all faith in the judicial system.
- He is fighting extradition to Hong Kong to face trial on fraud charges.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Court cases, orders & decisions
- actionable
- administer
- admissible
- affidavit
- affiliation order
- bail
- bale
- court martial
- inadmissible
- injunction
- judgment
- judicature
- judicial
- plea
- remedy
- retrial
- Rex
- ruling
- separation
- sequester
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trial noun (TEST)
C1 [ C or U ] a test, usually over a limited period of time, to discover how effective or suitable something or someone is:
More examples
- Clinical trials of the new drug may take five years.
- Preliminary results show that the vaccine is effective, but this has to be confirmed by further medical trials.
- We've got a lawnmower on trial.
- Preliminary trials show that the drug may be effective.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Testing, checking and experimenting
- assay
- check
- check sth out
- check up on sb
- collector
- crosscheck
- feeler
- inspect
- inspection
- inspector
- pace
- play around with sth
- screen
- spy
- spy out the land idiom
- test
- test sth out
- tester
- trial run
- try-out
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trial noun (PROBLEM)
[ C ] a person or thing that is annoying and causes a lot of problems:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Difficult things and people
- a (heavy) cross to bear idiom
- a bitter pill (to swallow) idiom
- a hard/tough nut to crack idiom
- albatross
- bane
- chill
- equation
- handicap
- headache
- hiccup
- hot potato
- impediment
- job
- labyrinth
- liability
- the chill wind of sth idiom
- the hard way idiom
- the sharp end
- the/a devil of a sth idiom
- thorn in your flesh/side idiom
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trial noun (EXAM)
[ C ] Australian English an exam taken at school for practice before a real exam:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Exams, tests & exercises
- achievement test
- AP
- cloze test
- comprehension
- entrance exam
- exercise
- fail
- flunk
- IB
- IELTS
- invigilate
- mock
- oral
- prelim
- resat
- resit
- road test
- script
- sit
- TOEFL
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Idiom(s)
trialverb [ T ]
uk/traɪəl/us/traɪəl/-ll- or -l-to test something in a formal way to discover how effective or suitable it is:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Inventing, designing and innovation
- architect
- artificer
- authoring
- blueprint
- cad
- coin
- computer-aided design
- ergonomics
- father
- founding father
- guinea pig
- improvisation
- innovate
- mint
- pioneer
- redesign
- research
- research and development
- robotics
- tech
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