DictionaryAI

attempt

uh-TEMPT/əˈtɛmpt/

Pluralattempts

Verbattempts, attempting, attempted

7 meanings of attempt

Practice

  1. 1
    an effortnouncountable
    An act or effort directed at doing or achieving something.

    His attempt to break the record fell just short.

    Repeated attempts to reach the office by phone all failed.

    UsageYou make an attempt (not incorrect: do an attempt): an attempt to win, an attempt at the record.

    Similareffort, try, bid, endeavor

  2. 2
    to tryverbtransitive
    To make an effort to do or achieve something, whether or not it succeeds.

    Climbers attempt the summit only in clear weather.

    He attempted to explain the misunderstanding calmly.

    UsageTakes to + verb or an object: attempted to explain, attempt the summit. In everyday talk, try is more usual.

    Note

    Longfellow's "Something attempted, something done" in The Village Blacksmith leans on the bare participle.

  3. 3
    offense (law)nouncountable or uncountable
    In criminal law, a substantial effort toward committing a crime that falls short of completing it.

    Under the law of attempt, prosecutors must show that the defendant went beyond mere planning and took a substantial step toward the crime.

    The statute punishes attempts as well as completed offenses.

    UsageOften with no article, naming the offense: a charge of attempt, the law of attempt.

    Note

    The threshold is a step that goes beyond mere preparation toward the crime. The German Criminal Code adds an exit: whoever voluntarily abandons the offense or prevents its completion "incurs no penalty for attempt."

  4. 4
    try to killnouncountable
    An assault or attack on someone, especially an effort to assassinate a public figure.

    The failed attempt on the president drew worldwide attention.

    Historians still debate who organized the attempt against the duke.

    UsageUsually an attempt on someone's life, or on or against the person: an attempt on the president.

    Similarattack, assault

    Note

    Behind this darker noun stands French attentat, and English has used it for an assault on someone's life since 1580. Allen's Defence of English Catholics (1584) protests that no one can charge them "of any attempt against the realm." Without further context, "the attempt on the president" is understood as an assassination attempt.

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    suicidenouncountable
    An act in which a person tries to take their own life.

    After a suicide attempt in college, she worked with a therapist and now speaks openly about getting help.

    Crisis hotlines work to prevent attempts before they happen.

    UsageUsually a suicide attempt, or an attempt on one's own life.

  2. 6
    storm a placeverbarchaic
    To attack a person or place, trying to overcome, win, or take it by force.
    without attempting his adversary’s life
    1830, John Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic
    to attempt the enemy’s camp
    Note

    Armies and assassins once used the verb this way, with the target as its direct object. One attempts the enemy's camp, and John Motley's The Rise of the Dutch Republic describes a man acting "without attempting his adversary's life." The construction is archaic now. Modern English keeps the idea mainly in the noun, as in an attempt on someone's life.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Attempt historically had a transitive sense meaning to attack or take by force, including military targets. en.wiktionary.org
    • John Motley's The Rise of the Dutch Republic contains the quoted phrase describing a man's actions. gutenberg.org
  3. 7
    verbobsolete
    To try to move or sway someone through entreaty, suffering, or temptation; to tempt.
    It made the laughter of an afternoon / That Vivien should attempt the blameless king.
    1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Vivien”
    Yet since I see you fearful, that neither my coat, integrity, nor persuasion can with ease attempt you, I will go further than I meant, to pluck all fears out of you.
    c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”
    Note

    Here the "solicit" half of the Latin survives, and the verb sits almost on top of tempt. Its object is usually a person to be swayed. Shakespeare's Measure for Measure has "persuasion can with ease attempt you," and Tennyson still writes in 1859 that "Vivien should attempt the blameless king." The sense is obsolete, and today it would be read as the everyday "try" verb. In modern writing, use tempt or sway instead.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The English verb derives ultimately from Latin attemptō, whose meanings include solicit. en.wiktionary.org
    • The object need not be a person: Juniper sings “As may attempt your wits to muse” in The Case is Altered, Act I, scene I. en.wikisource.org
    • Shakespeare's Measure for Measure contains the quoted wording. folgerdigitaltexts.org
    • Tennyson wrote the quoted words, which occur in the poem's narration. gutenberg.org
    • The Tennyson quotation appeared in Vivien, first published in Idylls of the King in 1859. d.lib.rochester.edu

Practice

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Origin

First recorded in the late 14th century as Middle English attempten, this word came from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō ("I try, solicit"), formed from ad ("to") plus temptare ("to try"). The noun dates from the 1530s, and the sense of an assault on someone's life or assassination attempt (French attentat) appeared in 1580.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

  • The word is first recorded in late-14th-century Middle English as attempten, borrowed from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin attemptō means 'I try, solicit'; it is a variant of attentō. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Latin verb combines ad, meaning 'to', with temptare, meaning 'to try'. en.wiktionary.org
  • The English noun dates from the 1530s. en.wiktionary.org
  • The assault or assassination-attempt sense dates from 1580. en.wiktionary.org
  • French attentat denotes an attack or assault. en.wiktionary.org