Definitions for essay
ˈɛs eɪ or, for 3,5 , ɛˈseɪ; ɛˈseɪes·say

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. essay(noun)

   an analytic or interpretive literary composition

2. essay(verb)

   a tentative attempt

3. try, seek, attempt, essay, assay(verb)

   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. test, prove, try, try out, examine, essay(verb)

   put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to

   "This approach has been tried with good results"; "Test this recipe"

Wiktionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. essay(Noun)

   A written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject.

   Etymology: From essai.

2. essay(Noun)

   A test, experiment; an assay.

   Etymology: From essai.

3. essay(Noun)

   An attempt.

   Etymology: From essai.

4. essay(Verb)

   To try.

   Etymology: From essai.

5. essay(Verb)

   To move forth, as into battle.

   Etymology: From essai.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Essay(noun)

   an effort made, or exertion of body or mind, for the performance of anything; a trial; attempt; as, to make an essay to benefit a friend

   Etymology: [F. essayer. See Essay, n.]

2. Essay(noun)

   a composition treating of any particular subject; -- usually shorter and less methodical than a formal, finished treatise; as, an essay on the life and writings of Homer; an essay on fossils, or on commerce

   Etymology: [F. essayer. See Essay, n.]

3. Essay(noun)

   an assay. See Assay, n

   Etymology: [F. essayer. See Essay, n.]

4. Essay(noun)

   to exert one's power or faculties upon; to make an effort to perform; to attempt; to endeavor; to make experiment or trial of; to try

   Etymology: [F. essayer. See Essay, n.]

5. Essay(noun)

   to test the value and purity of (metals); to assay. See Assay

   Etymology: [F. essayer. See Essay, n.]

Freebase(2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Essay

   An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition of an essay is vague, overlapping with those of an article and a short story. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays. While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are counterexamples. In some countries, essays have become a major part of formal education. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and admission essays are often used by universities in selecting applicants and, in the humanities and social sciences, as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams. The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other mediums beyond writing. A film essay is a movie that often incorporates documentary film making styles and which focuses more on the evolution of a theme or an idea. A photographic essay is an attempt to cover a topic with a linked series of photographs; it may or may not have an accompanying text or captions.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Essay

   es′ā, n. a trial: an experiment: a written composition less elaborate than a treatise.—v.t. Essay′, to try: to attempt: to make experiment of:—pr.p. essay′ing; pa.p. essayed′.—ns. Essay′er, Es′sayist, one who essays: a writer of essays; Essayette′, Es′saykin, a little essay.—adjs. Es′sayish; Essayis′tic. [O. Fr. essai—L. exagium, weighing—exagĕre, to try, examine.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Essay

   Text that describes the selected topic. For example, writing an essay on philosophy

   If you feel unable to articulate a good essay, buy college essay done by our qualified experts.

   Submitted by emilievilla on January 30, 2019  

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'essay' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3685

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'essay' in Nouns Frequency: #1621

Anagrams for essay »

1. eyass

How to pronounce essay?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say essay in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of essay in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of essay in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of essay in a Sentence

1. William Barr:

   The fact of the matter is that, in waging a scorched earth, no-holds-barred war of ‘Resistance’ against this Administration, it is the Left that is engaged in the systematic shredding of norms and the undermining of the rule of law. This highlights a basic disadvantage that conservatives have always had in contesting the political issues of the day. It was adverted to by the old, curmudgeonly Federalist, Fisher Ames, in an essay during the early years of the Republic.

2. Noreen Farrell:

   It’s weird being a public figure talking about all of this stuff because you put a target on your nose, when I wrote that essay I got a lot of support but I also have a Republican family in Kentucky who told me my career was effectively over.

3. Zeke Smith:

   We started having conversations all the way back in Fiji nine months ago about the care with which this episode was going to be handled, i came to Jeff [Probst] and asked if I could write a personal essay about what happened and he immediately said yes.

4. Wendell Berry:

   We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. (Actually appearing as "a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children" in _The Unforeseen Wilderness: An Essay on Kentucky’s Red River Gorge_, published 1971)

5. Samuel Johnson:

   ESSAY -- A loose sally of the mind an irregular indigested piece not a regular and orderly composition.

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