attempt
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at·tempt
(ə-tĕmpt′)tr.v. at·tempt·ed, at·tempt·ing, at·tempts
1. To try to perform, make, or achieve: attempted to read the novel in one sitting; attempted a difficult dive.
2. Archaic To tempt.
3. Archaic To try to seize or get control of by attacking.
n.
1. An effort or a try.
2. An attack; an assault: an attempt on someone's life.
[Middle English attempten, from Old French attempter, from Latin attemptāre : ad-, ad- + temptāre, to test.]
at·tempt′a·ble adj.
at·tempt′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
attempt
(əˈtɛmpt)vb (tr)
1. to make an effort (to do something) or to achieve (something); try
2. to try to surmount (an obstacle)
3. (Mountaineering) to try to climb: they will attempt the north wall of the Eiger.
4. archaic to attack
5. archaic to tempt
n
6. an endeavour to achieve something; effort
7. a result of an attempt or endeavour
8. an attack, esp with the intention to kill: an attempt on his life.
[C14: from Old French attempter, from Latin attemptāre to strive after, from tentāre to try]
atˈtemptable adj
atˈtempter n
Usage: Attempt should not be used in the passive when followed by an infinitive: attempts were made to find a solution (not a solution was attempted to be found)
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
at•tempt
(əˈtɛmpt)v.t.
1. to make an effort at; try; undertake: to attempt a difficult task.
2. Archaic. to attack; move against in a hostile manner: to attempt a person's life.
3. Archaic. to tempt.
n. 4. an effort made to accomplish something.
5. an attack or assault: an attempt on a person's life.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French atempter < Latin attemptāre to test, tamper with. See at-, tempt]
at•tempt′a•ble, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
try
– attemptBoth these words can be verbs or nouns. The other forms of try are tries, trying, tried.
1. 'try' used as a verb
If you try to do something, you make an effort to do it.
My sister tried to cheer me up.
He was trying his best to understand.
You can also try and do something. There is no difference in meaning, but try and do is used in conversation and less formal writing. In formal English, use try to do.
Try and see how many of these questions you can answer.
Please try and help me to cope with this.
We must try and understand.
Be Careful!
You can only use and after the base form of try – that is, when you are using it as an imperative or infinitive, or after a modal. You cannot say, for example, 'I was trying and help her' or 'I was trying and helping her'.
If you try doing something, you do it in order to find out how useful, effective, or enjoyable it is.
He tried changing the subject.
Have you ever tried painting?
2. 'attempt' used as a verb
If you attempt to do something, you try to do it. Attempt is a more formal word than try.
Some of the crowd attempted to break through the police lines.
Rescue workers attempted to cut him from the crashed vehicle.
Be Careful!
You don't say 'The crowd attempted and break through or 'The crowd attempted breaking through'.
3. 'try' and 'attempt' used as nouns
When someone tries to do something, you can refer to what they do as a try or an attempt. Try is normally used only in conversation and less formal writing. In formal English, you usually talk about an attempt.
After a few tries they gave up.
The young birds manage to fly several kilometres at their first attempt.
You say that someone has a try at something or gives something a try.
You've had a good try at it.
'I'll go and see him in the morning.' – 'Yes, give it a try.'
You say that someone makes an attempt to do something.
He made an attempt to call Courtney; she wasn't in.
Two recent reports made an attempt to assess the success of the project.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
attempt
Past participle: attempted
Gerund: attempting
| Imperative |
|---|
| attempt |
| attempt |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  attempt - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try"batting - (baseball) the batter's attempt to get on base best - the supreme effort one can make; "they did their best" worst - the weakest effort or poorest achievement one is capable of; "it was the worst he had ever done on a test" activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" bid, play - an attempt to get something; "they made a futile play for power"; "he made a bid to gain attention" fling, go, offer, whirl, crack, pass - a usually brief attempt; "he took a crack at it"; "I gave it a whirl" essay - a tentative attempt foray - an initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence); "scientists' forays into politics" contribution, share, part - the part played by a person in bringing about a result; "I am proud of my contribution in advancing the project"; "they all did their share of the work" liberation - the attempt to achieve equal rights or status; "she worked for women's liberation" mug's game - a futile or unprofitable endeavor power play, squeeze play, squeeze - an aggressive attempt to compel acquiescence by the concentration or manipulation of power; "she laughed at this sexual power play and walked away" seeking - an attempt to acquire or gain something stab, shot - informal words for any attempt or effort; "he gave it his best shot"; "he took a stab at forecasting" shot - an attempt to score in a game struggle, battle - an energetic attempt to achieve something; "getting through the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for recognition" takeover attempt - an attempt to take control of a corporation |
| 2. | attempt - the act of attacking; "attacks on women increased last year"; "they made an attempt on his life" crime, criminal offence, criminal offense, law-breaking, offense, offence - (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes" assault - a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped | |
| Verb | 1. |  attempt - make an effort or attempt; "He tried to shake off his fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world"pick up the gauntlet, take a dare - be dared to do something and attempt it act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel" struggle, fight - make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath" have a go, give it a try - make an attempt at something; "I never sat on a horse before but I'll give it a go" grope - search blindly or uncertainly; "His mind groped to make the connection" endeavor, endeavour, strive - attempt by employing effort; "we endeavor to make our customers happy" give it a try, give it a whirl - try; "let's give it a whirl!" adventure, gamble, run a risk, take a chance, take chances, risk, chance, hazard - take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome; "When you buy these stocks you are gambling" lay on the line, put on the line, risk - expose to a chance of loss or damage; "We risked losing a lot of money in this venture"; "Why risk your life?"; "She laid her job on the line when she told the boss that he was wrong" |
| 2. |  attempt - enter upon an activity or enterprise |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
attempt
verb
1. try, seek, aim, struggle, tackle, take on, experiment, venture, undertake, essay, strive, endeavour, have a go at (informal), make an effort, make an attempt, have a crack at, have a shot at (informal), try your hand at, do your best to, jump through hoops (informal), have a stab at (informal), take the bit between your teeth We attempted to do something like that here.
noun
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
attempt
verbTo make an attempt to do or make:
2. The act of attacking:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
опитвампробвам
pokuspokusit sezkusitatentát
forsøgforsøgeforsøge sig påprøveangreb
katsetapmiskatse
yrittääyrityskoettaa
कोशिशकोशिश करना
pokušajpokušati
megkísérelmerénylet
reyna, gera tilrauntilræîitilraun
試み試みる
시도시도하다
bandymasbandytipasikėsinimas
mēģinājumsmēģinātslepkavības mēģinājumsuzbrukums
atentát
poskusposkusiti
försökaförsök
ความพยายามพยายาม
کوششکوشش کرنا
cố gắngsự cố gắng
attempt
[əˈtempt]A. N
1. (= try) → intento m
we'll do it or die in the attempt → lo haremos o moriremos en el intento
at the first attempt → en el primer intento
this is my first attempt → es la primera vez que lo intento
after several attempts they gave up → tras varios intentos or varias tentativas, se dieron por vencidos
we had to give up the attempt → tuvimos que renunciar a la empresa
it was a good attempt → fue un esfuerzo digno de alabanza
to make an attempt to do sth → hacer una tentativa de hacer algo, intentar hacer algo
he made no attempt to help → ni siquiera intentó ayudar
he made two attempts at it → lo intentó dos veces
to make an attempt on the record → tratar de batir el récord
to make an attempt on the summit → tratar de llegar a la cumbre
we'll do it or die in the attempt → lo haremos o moriremos en el intento
at the first attempt → en el primer intento
this is my first attempt → es la primera vez que lo intento
after several attempts they gave up → tras varios intentos or varias tentativas, se dieron por vencidos
we had to give up the attempt → tuvimos que renunciar a la empresa
it was a good attempt → fue un esfuerzo digno de alabanza
to make an attempt to do sth → hacer una tentativa de hacer algo, intentar hacer algo
he made no attempt to help → ni siquiera intentó ayudar
he made two attempts at it → lo intentó dos veces
to make an attempt on the record → tratar de batir el récord
to make an attempt on the summit → tratar de llegar a la cumbre
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
attempt
[əˈtɛmpt] n → tentative f
She gave up after several attempts → Elle y a renoncé après plusieurs tentatives.
an attempt to do sth → une tentative de faire qch
to make no attempt to do sth → ne rien faire pour faire qch
He made no attempt to help me → Il n'a rien fait pour m'aider.
an attempt at sth
He made an attempt at humour → Il a essayé de faire de l'humour., Il a essayé de plaisanter.
at the first attempt → du premier coup, à la première tentative
on the first attempt (during) → lors de la première tentative
to make an attempt on sb's life → attenter à la vie de qn
She gave up after several attempts → Elle y a renoncé après plusieurs tentatives.
an attempt to do sth → une tentative de faire qch
to make no attempt to do sth → ne rien faire pour faire qch
He made no attempt to help me → Il n'a rien fait pour m'aider.
an attempt at sth
He made an attempt at humour → Il a essayé de faire de l'humour., Il a essayé de plaisanter.
at the first attempt → du premier coup, à la première tentative
on the first attempt (during) → lors de la première tentative
to make an attempt on sb's life → attenter à la vie de qn
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
attempt
vt → versuchen; smile, conversation → den Versuch machen or unternehmen zu; task, job → sich versuchen an (+dat); attempted murder → Mordversuch m; attempted suicide → Selbstmordversuch m
n → Versuch m; (on sb’s life) → (Mord)anschlag m (→ on auf +acc); an attempt on Mount Everest/the record → ein Versuch, Mount Everest zu bezwingen/den Rekord zu brechen; an attempt at a joke/at doing something → ein Versuch, einen Witz zu machen/etw zu tun; to make an attempt on somebody’s life → einen Anschlag auf jdn or jds Leben verüben; to make an attempt at doing something or to do something → versuchen, etw zu tun; he made no attempt to help us → er unternahm keinen Versuch, uns zu helfen; at the first attempt → auf Anhieb, beim ersten Versuch; in the attempt → dabei
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
attempt
[əˈtɛmpt]Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
attempt
(əˈtempt) verb to try. He attempted to reach the dying man, but did not succeed; He did not attempt the last question in the exam.
noun1. a try. They failed in their attempt to climb the Everest; She made no attempt to run away.
2. an attack. They made an attempt on his life but he survived.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
attempt
→ مُحَاوَلة, يُحاوِلُ pokus, pokusit se forsøg, forsøge Versuch, versuchen απόπειρα, επιχειρώ intentar, intento yrittää, yritys tentative, tenter pokušaj, pokušati tentare, tentativo 試み, 試みる 시도, 시도하다 poging, proberen forsøk, forsøke próba, spróbować tentar, tentativa попытка, пытаться försök, försöka ความพยายาม, พยายาม girişim, kalkışmak cố gắng, sự cố gắng 尝试, 试图Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
attempt
vt. intentar, tratar de obtener algo; hacer un esfuerzo; esforzarse, arriesgarse.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012