attempt
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō (“I try, solicit”), from ad (“to”) + temptare, more correctly tentare (“to try”); see tempt.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
attempt (plural attempts)
- The action of trying at something.
- We made an attempt to cross the stream, but didn't manage.
- This poem is much better than the feeble attempt of mine.
- It was worth the attempt.
- An assault or attack.
- The revolutionaries made several attempts on the monarch's life.
[edit] Usage notes
- Adjectives often applied to "attempt": first, failed, desperate, last, half-hearted, unsuccessful, serious, successful, feeble, new, honest, vain, sincere, ambitious, earnest, clumsy, direct, hard, brilliant, official, useless, clever, sophisticated, amateurish.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
the action of trying at something
attack
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Translations to be checked
[edit] Verb
attempt (third-person singular simple present attempts, present participle attempting, simple past and past participle attempted)
- To try.
- If you are feeling depressed, you have to attempt to recover.
- A group of 80 budding mountaineers attempted Kilimanjaro, but 30 of them didn't make it to the top.
[edit] Usage notes
- This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
[edit] Translations
to try
[edit] Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: drawn · field · street · #829: attempt · soft · officers · likely
[edit] External links
- attempt in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- attempt in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- attempt at OneLook Dictionary Search
