attempting
- 1Present participle and gerund of attempt.
The rescue team is attempting to reach the stranded hikers before nightfall.
He kept attempting the puzzle until the pieces finally made sense.
Note
The -ing form does double duty. As a participle it builds the progressive (is attempting to reach); as a gerund it names the act itself (attempting the climb alone was a mistake). Either way it takes a direct object or a to-infinitive: attempting the summit names the target, attempting to climb names the action. Older uses, now archaic, meant attacking or trying to win someone over.
Attempting the crossing in winter was reckless.
She admitted attempting to open the safe.
attempting is a form of attempt
attempt, verb: To make an effort to do or achieve something, whether or not it succeeds. Full entry
- Spelling
- attempt → attempting: add -ing
Use it in a sentence
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