Try crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Try” are JUDGE, PROVE or TASTE, with 5 letters. Below are 35 answers from 4 to 10 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

HEAR 4 letters · verb

examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process “The jury had heard all the evidence”

JUDGE 5 letters · verb

put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of “The judge tried both father and son in separate trials”

EFFORT 6 letters · noun

earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something “made an effort to cover all the reading material”

ATTEMPT 7 letters · noun

earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

ENDEAVOR 8 letters · noun

earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something “wished him luck in his endeavor”

ENDEAVOUR 9 letters · noun

earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

ADJUDICATE 10 letters · verb

put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, HEAR, TEST, SEEK, FISH, PUSH and FEND all fit. The first letter settles most of it: H → HEAR · T → TEST · S → SEEK · F → FISH, FEND · P → PUSH. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, JUDGE, PROVE, TASTE, ESSAY, ASSAY and DETER all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: J → JUDGE · P → PROVE · T → TASTE · E → ESSAY · A → ASSAY · D → DETER. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, EFFORT, STRESS, SAMPLE, STRAIN, RENDER and BROWSE all fit. The fourth letter tells them all apart: O → EFFORT · E → STRESS · P → SAMPLE · A → STRAIN · D → RENDER · W → BROWSE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “tried” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “try” means

• verb: make an effort or attempt
• verb: put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to
• verb: put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of
• verb: take a sample of (“Try these new crackers”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as TRY, and words whose definition is TRY. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.