"trial run" meaning in English

See trial run in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: trial runs [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} trial run (plural trial runs)
  1. An empirical test of the suitability or effectiveness of a method or object by running it at least once. Translations (of suitability or effectiveness): 試運行 /试运行 (shìyùnxíng) (Chinese Mandarin), 試驗 /试验 (shìyàn) (Chinese Mandarin), prøvetur [common-gender] (Danish), testpoging (Dutch), koekäyttö (note: of a thing) (Finnish), prøvetur [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), prøvetur [masculine] (Norwegian Nynorsk)
    Sense id: en-trial_run-en-noun-OFKOyc~l Disambiguation of 'of suitability or effectiveness': 77 23
  2. An empirical test of the suitability or capability of a person or actor by letting them perform at least once. Translations (test of the suitability or capability of a person): 試鏡 /试镜 (shìjìng) (Chinese Mandarin), 試演 /试演 (shìyǎn) (Chinese Mandarin), koe (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-trial_run-en-noun-HXaScyiG Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 86 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 13 87 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 11 89 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 7 93 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 6 94 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 11 89 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 14 86 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 12 88 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 9 91 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations: 3 97 Disambiguation of 'test of the suitability or capability of a person': 10 90
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: dry run, dummy run, tryout

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "trial runs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "trial run (plural trial runs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              149,
              158
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1962 April, R. K. Evans, “The Acceptance Testing of Diesel Locomotives”, in Modern Railways, page 268:",
          "text": "Because most diesel failures can be traced to electrical faults, minor in themselves but often difficult to pin-point, any unscheduled halt during a trial run is often the signal for the frenzied unfolding of wiring diagrams and the appearance of an impressive array of voltmeters and circuit testers.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An empirical test of the suitability or effectiveness of a method or object by running it at least once."
      ],
      "id": "en-trial_run-en-noun-OFKOyc~l",
      "links": [
        [
          "empirical",
          "empirical"
        ],
        [
          "test",
          "test"
        ],
        [
          "suitability",
          "suitability"
        ],
        [
          "effectiveness",
          "effectiveness"
        ],
        [
          "method",
          "method"
        ],
        [
          "object",
          "object"
        ],
        [
          "run",
          "run"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "shìyùnxíng",
          "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
          "word": "試運行 /试运行"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "shìyàn",
          "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
          "word": "試驗 /试验"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "lang_code": "da",
          "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "prøvetur"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "lang_code": "nl",
          "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
          "word": "testpoging"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "note": "of a thing",
          "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
          "word": "koekäyttö"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "lang_code": "nb",
          "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "prøvetur"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "77 23",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "lang_code": "nn",
          "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "prøvetur"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "14 86",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 87",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 89",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 93",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 94",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 89",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "14 86",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "12 88",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 91",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 97",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An empirical test of the suitability or capability of a person or actor by letting them perform at least once."
      ],
      "id": "en-trial_run-en-noun-HXaScyiG",
      "links": [
        [
          "empirical",
          "empirical"
        ],
        [
          "test",
          "test"
        ],
        [
          "suitability",
          "suitability"
        ],
        [
          "capability",
          "capability"
        ],
        [
          "person",
          "person"
        ],
        [
          "actor",
          "actor"
        ],
        [
          "perform",
          "perform"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "shìjìng",
          "sense": "test of the suitability or capability of a person",
          "word": "試鏡 /试镜"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "shìyǎn",
          "sense": "test of the suitability or capability of a person",
          "word": "試演 /试演"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "10 90",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "test of the suitability or capability of a person",
          "word": "koe"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dry run"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dummy run"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "tryout"
    }
  ],
  "word": "trial run"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "trial runs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "trial run (plural trial runs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              149,
              158
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1962 April, R. K. Evans, “The Acceptance Testing of Diesel Locomotives”, in Modern Railways, page 268:",
          "text": "Because most diesel failures can be traced to electrical faults, minor in themselves but often difficult to pin-point, any unscheduled halt during a trial run is often the signal for the frenzied unfolding of wiring diagrams and the appearance of an impressive array of voltmeters and circuit testers.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An empirical test of the suitability or effectiveness of a method or object by running it at least once."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "empirical",
          "empirical"
        ],
        [
          "test",
          "test"
        ],
        [
          "suitability",
          "suitability"
        ],
        [
          "effectiveness",
          "effectiveness"
        ],
        [
          "method",
          "method"
        ],
        [
          "object",
          "object"
        ],
        [
          "run",
          "run"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "An empirical test of the suitability or capability of a person or actor by letting them perform at least once."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "empirical",
          "empirical"
        ],
        [
          "test",
          "test"
        ],
        [
          "suitability",
          "suitability"
        ],
        [
          "capability",
          "capability"
        ],
        [
          "person",
          "person"
        ],
        [
          "actor",
          "actor"
        ],
        [
          "perform",
          "perform"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "dry run"
    },
    {
      "word": "dummy run"
    },
    {
      "word": "tryout"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "shìyùnxíng",
      "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
      "word": "試運行 /试运行"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "shìyàn",
      "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
      "word": "試驗 /试验"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "prøvetur"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
      "word": "testpoging"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "note": "of a thing",
      "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
      "word": "koekäyttö"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "prøvetur"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "lang_code": "nn",
      "sense": "of suitability or effectiveness",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "prøvetur"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "shìjìng",
      "sense": "test of the suitability or capability of a person",
      "word": "試鏡 /试镜"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "shìyǎn",
      "sense": "test of the suitability or capability of a person",
      "word": "試演 /试演"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "test of the suitability or capability of a person",
      "word": "koe"
    }
  ],
  "word": "trial run"
}

Download raw JSONL data for trial run meaning in English (3.4kB)

{
  "called_from": "page/2530",
  "msg": "skipping string in the middle of translations: </table></div></div>\n\n",
  "path": [
    "trial run"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "trial run",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "page/2530",
  "msg": "skipping string in the middle of translations: </table></div></div>",
  "path": [
    "trial run"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "trial run",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (ccec6f1 and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.