Trying

How to spell trying

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce trying

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does trying mean?

1. verbMaking an attempt or effort to do something.
2. adjectiveDifficult to endure; testing one's patience or stamina.

Trying in a sentence

• verb

  She is trying to finish the report before lunch.

• adjective

  The long commute made for a trying start to the week.

• verb

  He kept trying the door handle, but it would not budge.

• adjective

  Caring for a newborn can be a trying experience for new parents.

Where does trying come from?

Language of origin: French

This word is the -ing form of the verb 'try', which English borrowed from the Old French 'trier', meaning 'to pick out, separate, or sift'. The deeper roots are uncertain, though one common suggestion ties it to a Late Latin word for separating grain from chaff by threshing, which fits the early English sense of testing or sorting one thing from another. From 'sift and test' the meaning broadened to 'attempt', since to try something was originally to put it to the test. The adjective use, meaning 'taxing' or 'hard to endure', grew naturally from this idea of something that tests a person's patience or strength. The spelling trap is simple but persistent: the final 'y' of 'try' stays put and 'ing' is added, giving 'trying' rather than the wrongly contracted 'triing' or 'tring'.

How the word is built

• try (from Old French trier: to pick out, sift)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)