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trial and error
noun
- experimentation or investigation in which various methods or means are tried and faulty ones eliminated in order to find the correct solution or to achieve the desired result or effect.
trial and error
noun
- a method of discovery, solving problems, etc, based on practical experiment and experience rather than on theory
he learned to cook by trial and error
trial and error
- To “proceed by trial and error” is to experiment, rejecting what does not work and adopting what does.
Other Word Forms
- ٰa-Ի-۴ǰ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of trial and error1
Idioms and Phrases
An attempt to accomplish something by trying various means until the correct one is found. for example, The only way to solve this problem is by trial and error . The error here alludes to the failed means or attempts, which are discarded until the right way is found. [c. 1800]Example Sentences
Setting up the cameras in rocky, high-altitude areas took a lot of trial and error.
Of course, being a kid is full of trial and error, especially when you’re a know-it-all.
And in the meantime, the Dodgers will have to decide whether his future development is better suited by trial and error in the big leagues, or a lower-stakes stint against minor-league pitching.
"A bodybuilder is doing stuff that a doctor would never believe or dream of doing - it's a trial and error approach," added Joey, originally from Tenby in Pembrokeshire but now living in Preston.
She says it can be a process of trial and error, switching between methods until you find something that suits you.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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