What does attempt mean?

Definitions for attempt
əˈtɛmptat·tempt

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word attempt.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, trynoun

    earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

    "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try"

  2. attack, attemptverb

    the act of attacking

    "attacks on women increased last year"; "they made an attempt on his life"

  3. try, seek, attempt, essay, assayverb

    make an effort or attempt

    "He tried to shake off his fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world"

  4. undertake, set about, attemptverb

    enter upon an activity or enterprise

Wiktionary

  1. attemptnoun

    The action of trying at something.

  2. attemptnoun

    An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt.

  3. attemptverb

    To try.

  4. Etymology: Late 14th century, from atempter, from attempto, from ad + temptare, more correctly tentare; see tempt.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Attemptnoun

    Etymology: from the verb.

    If we be always prepared to receive an enemy, we shall long live in peace and quietness, without any attempts upon us. Francis Bacon.

    Alack! I am afraid, they have awak’d;
    And ’tis not done, th’ attempt, and not the deed,
    Confounds us. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    He would have cry’d; but hoping that he dreamt,
    Amazement ty’d his tongue, and stopp’d th’ attempt. Dryd.

    I subjoin the following attempt towards a natural history of fossils. John Woodward, on Fossils.

  2. To Attemptverb

    Etymology: attenter, Fr.

    He flatt’ring his displeasure,
    Tript me behind, got praises of the king,
    For him attempting who was self-subdu’d. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

    Who, in all things wise and just,
    Hinder’d not Satan to attempt the mind
    Of man; with strength entire, and free-will, arm’d. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. x.

    I have been so hardy to attempt upon a name, which among some is yet very sacred. Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis, Preface.

    I have nevertheless attempted to send unto you, for the renewing of brotherhood and friendship. 1 Macc. xii. 17.

Wikipedia

  1. Attempt

    An attempt to commit a crime occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur. Attempt to commit a particular crime is a crime, usually considered to be of the same or lesser gravity as the particular crime attempted.: 669–671  Attempt is a type of inchoate crime, a crime that is not fully developed. The crime of attempt has two elements, intent and some conduct toward completion of the crime.One group of theories in criminal law is that attempt to commit an act occurs when a person comes dangerously close to carrying out a criminal act, and intends to commit the act, but does not commit it. The person may have carried out all the necessary steps (or thought they had) but still failed, or the attempt may have been abandoned or prevented at a late stage. The attempt must have gone beyond mere planning or preparation, and is distinct from other inchoate offenses such as conspiracy to commit a crime or solicitation of a crime. There are many specific crimes of attempt, such as attempted murder, which may vary by jurisdiction. Punishment is often less severe than would be the case if the attempted crime had been carried out. Abandonment of the attempt may constitute a not guilty defence, depending partly on the extent to which the attempt was abandoned freely and voluntarily. Early common law did not punish attempts; the law of attempt was not recognised by common law until the case of b. Rex v. Scofield in 1784.: 669 The essence of the crime of attempt in legal terms is that the defendant has failed to commit the actus reus (the Latin term for the "guilty act") of the full offense, but has the direct and specific intent to commit that full offense. The normal rule for establishing criminal liability is to prove an actus reus accompanied by a mens rea ("guilty mind") at the relevant time (see concurrence and strict liability offenses as the exception to the rule).

ChatGPT

  1. attempt

    An attempt is a trial or effort to perform, accomplish, or complete a specified action or task, often with the implication that success is not certain. It can also refer to an act of trying to gain or achieve something, such as power or control.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Attemptverb

    to make trial or experiment of; to try; to endeavor to do or perform (some action); to assay; as, to attempt to sing; to attempt a bold flight

  2. Attemptverb

    to try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt

  3. Attemptverb

    to try to win, subdue, or overcome; as, one who attempts the virtue of a woman

  4. Attemptverb

    to attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force; as, to attempt the enemy's camp

  5. Attemptverb

    to make an attempt; -- with upon

  6. Attemptnoun

    a essay, trial, or endeavor; an undertaking; an attack, or an effort to gain a point; esp. an unsuccessful, as contrasted with a successful, effort

Wikidata

  1. Attempt

    Attempt in criminal law is an offense that occurs when a person comes dangerously close to carrying out a criminal act, and intends to commit the act, but does not in fact commit it. The person may have carried out all the necessary steps but still failed, or the attempt may have been abandoned or prevented at a late stage. The attempt must have gone beyond mere planning or preparation, and is distinct from other Inchoate offenses such as conspiracy to commit a crime or solicitation of a crime. There are many specific crimes of attempt, such as attempted murder, which may vary by jurisdiction. Punishment is often less severe than would be the case if the attempted crime had been carried out. Abandonment of the attempt may constitute a not guilty defence, depending partly on the extent to which the attempt was abandoned freely and voluntarily. Early common law did not punish attempts; the law of attempt was not recognised by common law until the case of b. Rex v. Scofield in 1784. The essence of the crime of attempt in legal terms is that the defendant has failed to commit the actus reus of the full offense, but has the direct and specific intent to commit that full offense.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Attempt

    at-temt′, v.t. to try or endeavour: to try to obtain: tempt, entice: to make an effort or attack upon.—v.i. to make an attempt or trial.—n. a trial: endeavour or effort: a personal assault: (Milton) temptation: (law) any act which can fairly be described as one of a series which, if uninterrupted and successful, would constitute a crime.—n. Attemptabil′ity.—adj. Attempt′able, that may be attempted.—n. Attempt′er (Milton), a tempter. [O. Fr. atempter—L. attentāread, and tem-pt, tentāre, to try—tendĕre, to stretch.]

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'attempt' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1111

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'attempt' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3264

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'attempt' in Nouns Frequency: #314

  4. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'attempt' in Verbs Frequency: #262

How to pronounce attempt?

How to say attempt in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of attempt in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of attempt in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of attempt in a Sentence

  1. Eric Dore:

    It was the road Napoleon took north to Paris via Grenoble for his big comeback, it's historically unique and easy to navigate, and those who attempt it will get superb vistas over the surrounding countryside of glorious Provence and the Riviera.

  2. Sarah Sanders on Wednesday:

    This is a desperate and pathetic attempt by Key Senate Democrats to obstruct a very highly-qualified nominee. The hearing date is set for September 4.

  3. Dan Moulthrop:

    This is a specious attempt to smear an organization that has done nothing other than insist on fair debates where facts and the truth are respected.

  4. Chairman Tim Massad:

    We will do everything in our power to pursue those who attempt to engage in fraud or manipulation in our markets, there is nothing more important than the integrity of our markets.

  5. Keith Fink:

    The company has engaged in an invasion of Mr. Charney's privacy in a shameful attempt to extort him and gain leverage over him.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

attempt#1#3056#10000

Translations for attempt

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • محاولةArabic
  • спрабавацьBelarusian
  • пробвам, проба, опит, опитвамBulgarian
  • temptativaCatalan, Valencian
  • pokus, zkusitCzech
  • forsøge, prøve, forsøgDanish
  • Bestrebung, Versuch, Anschlag, versuchen, Bestreben, AttentatGerman
  • απόπειρα, προσπαθώ, επιχειρώ, αποπειρώμαι, προσπάθειαGreek
  • provoEsperanto
  • atentado, ensayo, tratar, tentativa, intentar, intentoSpanish
  • katse, katsetama, proovima, tapmiskatse, üritamaEstonian
  • yrittää, murhayritys, koettaa, yritys, päällekarkaus, hyökkäysFinnish
  • tentative, essayer, tenter, attentatFrench
  • ionsaí, ionsaighIrish
  • feuchainn, feuchScottish Gaelic
  • ניסה, ניסיוןHebrew
  • कोशिश, कोशिश करनाHindi
  • niat, usaha, coba, upayaIndonesian
  • tentativo, provare, tentare, attentare, attentato, sforzo, cercareItalian
  • 試み, 試みる, 試すJapanese
  • тажрыйба, тырышуу, аракет кылуу, аракет, сынам, кол салууKyrgyz
  • conor, conatusLatin
  • mēģinājums, mēģinātLatvian
  • pogen, probeersel, proberen, poging, aanslagDutch
  • prøve, forsøke, angrep, forsøkNorwegian
  • próba, próbować, podejście, spróbowaćPolish
  • tentar, atentado, tentativaPortuguese
  • опыт, попытка, пробовать, покушение, постараться, стараться, пытаться, проба, попробовать, попытатьсяRussian
  • pokušaj, покушајSerbo-Croatian
  • pokúšať sa, pokúsiť saSlovak
  • försök, försökaSwedish
  • ప్రయత్నించు, ప్రయత్నంTelugu
  • пробувати, намагатися, спробаUkrainian
  • کوشش, کوشش کرناUrdu
  • thửVietnamese
  • steifülönVolapük

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"attempt." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/attempt>.

Discuss these attempt definitions with the community:

1 Comment
  • Chad Simons
    Chad Simons
    I FEEL THAT IN LAW ATTEMPTTO DO SOMETHING SHOULD NOT BE A CRIME, EITHER YOU DID IT OR YOU DID NOT DO IT, THINKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING, OR ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING AND EVEN BEING ALMOST AT THE END OF SOMETHING THEN HAVE NOT FINISHED THE TASK IS NOT A CRIME, FOR EXSAMPLE, IF YOU PICKED UP A PEN AND STARTED TO WRITE A BAD CHECK AND EVEN HAD WROTE YOUR NAME ON IT BUT THEN DECIDED THAT YOU WOULD GET IN TROUBLE AND TORE THE CHECK UP THAT IS NOT A CRIME, NOW FOR OTHER CASES LIKE ATTEMT TO MURRDER IS SOMETHING YOU CAN GET ATTEMPT OUT OF, FOR EXSAMPLE: WHEN YOU WALK UP TO SOMEONE AND STICK A KNIFE IN SOMEONES CHEST THATS TAKING THE BIGGEST CHANCE OF THAT PERSON TO DIE, SO THERE IS WHERE U GET ATTEMPT. THEY NEED TO GET THEIR LAWS IN ORDER AND STOP CHARGING PEOPLE WITH BULL CRAP.... 
    LikeReply5 years ago

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either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent
A commensal
B tantamount
C ostensive
D askant

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