Trial vs. Pretrial

An opportunity to test something out; a test.

Example: ‘They will perform the trials for the new equipment next week.’;

Appearance at judicial court in order to be examined.

A difficult or annoying experience.

Example: ‘That boy was a trial to his parents.’;

A tryout to pick members of a team.

Example: ‘soccer trials’;

(ceramics) A piece of ware used to test the heat of a kiln.

(UK) An internal examination set by Eton College.

Pertaining to a trial or test.

Attempted on a provisional or experimental basis.

Characterized by having three (usually equivalent) components.

Triple.

(grammar) Pertaining to a language form referring to three of something, like people; contrast singular, dual and plural. (See Ambai language for an example.)

Example: ‘No language has a trial number unless it has a dual.’;

To carry out a series of tests on (a new product, procedure etc.) before marketing or implementing it.

Example: ‘The warning system was extensively trialed before being fitted to all our vehicles.’;

To try out (a new player) in a sports team.

Example: ‘The team trialled a new young goalkeeper in Saturday's match, with mixed results.’;

The act of trying or testing in any manner.

Any effort or exertion of strength for the purpose of ascertaining what can be done or effected.

Example: ‘[I] defy thee to the trial of mortal fight.’;

The state of being tried or tempted; exposure to suffering that tests strength, patience, faith, or the like; affliction or temptation that exercises and proves the graces or virtues of men.

Example: ‘Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings.’;

The act of testing by experience; proof; test.

Example: ‘Repeated trials of the issues and events of actions.’;

That which tries or afflicts; that which harasses; that which tries the character or principles; that which tempts to evil; as, his child's conduct was a sore trial.

Example: ‘Every station is exposed to some trials.’;

Examination by a test; experiment, as in chemistry, metallurgy, etc.

The formal examination of the matter in issue in a cause before a competent tribunal; the mode of determining a question of fact in a court of law; the examination, in legal form, of the facts in issue in a cause pending before a competent tribunal, for the purpose of determining such issue.

(law) legal proceedings consisting of the judicial examination of issues by a competent tribunal;

Example: ‘most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial’;

the act of testing something;

Example: ‘in the experimental trials the amount of carbon was measured separately’; ‘he called each flip of the coin a new trial’;

(sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications;

Example: ‘the trials for the semifinals began yesterday’;

(law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law;

Example: ‘he had a fair trial and the jury found him guilty’;

trying something to find out about it;

Example: ‘a sample for ten days free trial’; ‘a trial of progesterone failed to relieve the pain’;

an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event;

Example: ‘his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him’; ‘life is full of tribulations’; ‘a visitation of the plague’;

the act of undergoing testing;

Example: ‘he survived the great test of battle’; ‘candidates must compete in a trial of skill’;

a formal examination of evidence by a judge, typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings

Example: ‘the editor was summoned to stand trial for libel’; ‘the newspaper accounts of the trial’;

a test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something

Example: ‘clinical trials must establish whether the new hip replacements are working’;

a sports match to test the ability of players eligible for selection to a team

Example: ‘he cracked his ankle the week before the final trial’;

a test of individual ability on a motorcycle over rough ground or on a road.

an event in which horses, dogs, or other animals compete or perform

Example: ‘horse trials’;

a person, experience, or situation that tests a person's endurance or forbearance

Example: ‘the trials and tribulations of married life’;

test (something, especially a new product) to assess its suitability or performance

Example: ‘teachers all over the UK are trialling the materials’;

(of a horse, dog, or other animal) compete in trials

Example: ‘the pup trialled on Saturday’;

In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court.

Pertaining to a preliminary trial.

Before a trial.

(legal) A preliminary trial held in advance of a court trial.

Example: ‘As a result, another pretrial review was to be held on 17 February.’;

(law) a conference held before the trial begins to bring the parties together to outline discovery proceedings and to define the issues to be tried; more useful in civil than in criminal cases

preceding an official trial;

Example: ‘pretrial publicity’; ‘pretrial hearings are usually for the purpose of clarifying facts and points of la’;