What does trying mean?
“Trying” is most often the -ing form of the verb “try.” It can describe making an attempt, often with repeated effort or persistence: someone who keeps trying continues to attempt a task despite difficulty. It can also mean testing or sampling something, as in trying a new route or dish. In adjective use, “trying” describes a situation, experience, or period as difficult, demanding, or stressful. Thus “a trying week” presents hardship rather than ordinary inconvenience, and the word tends to sound somewhat formal in this use. The verb form is common in everyday speech and writing, including in progressive constructions and as a gerund, as in “Trying is worthwhile when practice improves a skill.” Overall, “trying” is useful because it captures both action and evaluation: it can identify an effort someone makes and, in adjectival contexts, the strain that effort or circumstance creates. It should not be confused with “tiring,” which focuses on fatigue rather than the challenge of an attempt.
Making an attempt to do something, often with effort or persistence; it can also mean testing or sampling something.
"He was trying a new route to avoid the traffic."
This form is common in progressive constructions and as a gerund. In informal speech, “try and” is often used where formal English prefers “try to.”
Difficult, demanding, or stressful to endure.
"The team faced a trying week after several postponements."
This use is especially common with words such as “times,” “experience,” “conditions,” and “circumstances,” and can be somewhat formal in tone.
Trying captures both sides of a challenge: the effort you make and the hardship that makes the effort necessary.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trying come from?
Trying is the ordinary English present participle and gerund form of try, formed by adding the -ing ending. The English verb try was borrowed through Old French trier, and trial comes from the same medieval French word family. Over time, the -ing form also developed an independent adjectival use for describing difficult or demanding circumstances.
How trying is actually used
The verb form is neutral in register and common in everyday speech and writing. As an adjective, it is especially associated with difficult circumstances or demanding experiences and can sound somewhat more formal than ordinary expressions such as “hard” or “difficult.”
Easily confused with trying
Trying refers to making an effort or facing something difficult, whereas tiring refers primarily to causing fatigue.