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
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
6.an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event;
his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him
7.the act of undergoing testing;
he survived the great test of battle