trial
     n 1: (law) legal proceedings consisting of the judicial
          examination of issues by a competent tribunal; "most of
          these complaints are settled before they go to trial"
     2: the act of testing something; "in the experimental trials
        the amount of carbon was measured separately"; "he called
        each flip of the coin a new trial" [syn: {test}, {run}]
     3: (sports) a preliminary competition to determine
        qualifications; "the trials for the semifinals began
        yesterday"
     4: (law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by
        due process of law; "he had a fair trial and the jury
        found him guilty"
     5: trying something to find out about it; "a sample for ten
        days free trial"; "a trial of progesterone failed to
        relieve the pain" [syn: {trial run}, {test}, {tryout}]
     6: an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event; "his
        mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him"; "life
        is full of tribulations"; "a visitation of the plague"
        [syn: {tribulation}, {visitation}]
     7: the act of undergoing testing; "he survived the great test
        of battle"; "candidates must compete in a trial of skill"
        [syn: {test}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0