attempt.
To try.
Meaning & usage
To try.
to attempt an escape from prison
I attempted to sing, but my throat was too hoarse.
To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.
To try to win, subdue, or overcome.
one who attempts the virtue of a woman
To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force.
to attempt the enemy’s camp
To make a substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin temptō Latin attemptōder. Old French atempterbor. Middle English attempten English attempt Late 14th century, as Middle English attempten, from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō (“to try, solicit”), from ad- (“to”) + temptō; see tempt. The noun is from the 1530s, the sense "an assault on somebody's life, assassination attempt" (French attentat) is from 1580. By surface analysis, at- + tempt.
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.
An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt.
A substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).
An act of trying to commit suicide
Her attempt was not successful, and resulted in her being hospitalized.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin temptō Latin attemptōder. Old French atempterbor. Middle English attempten English attempt Late 14th century, as Middle English attempten, from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō (“to try, solicit”), from ad- (“to”) + temptō; see tempt. The noun is from the 1530s, the sense "an assault on somebody's life, assassination attempt" (French attentat) is from 1580. By surface analysis, at- + tempt.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.