attempt

verb

1. To try.

   “to attempt an escape from prison”

   “I attempted to sing, but my throat was too hoarse.”

   “A group of 80 budding mountaineers attempted Kilimanjaro, but 30 of them didn’t make it to the top.”

   “Although it's hard to get right, please attempt to do so.”

   “Something attempted, something done, / Has earned a night's repose.”

2. (obsolete)To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.

   “Yet since I see you fearful, that neither my coat, integrity, nor persuasion can with ease attempt you, I will go further than I meant, to pluck all fears out of you.”

   “It made the laughter of an afternoon / That Vivien should attempt the blameless king.”

3. (archaic)To try to win, subdue, or overcome.

   “one who attempts the virtue of a woman”

   “Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further: / Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute.”

4. (archaic)To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force.

   “to attempt the enemy’s camp”

   “without attempting his adversary’s life”

5. To make a substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).

   “Whoever takes a direct and immediate step towards the realisation of the offence as envisaged by them attempts to commit an offence.”

noun

1. The action of trying at something.

   “We made an attempt to cross the stream, but didn’t manage.”

   “This poem is much better than the feeble attempt of mine.”

   “It was worth the attempt.”

   “No matter how many failed attempts we made, we maintained a positive attitude and tried again and again until we succeeded.”

   “But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea”

2. An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt.

   “No man can charge us of any attempt against the realm.”

3. A substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).

   “Whoever voluntarily abandons the further commission of the offence or prevents its completion incurs no penalty for attempt.”

4. An act of trying to commit suicide

   “Her attempt was not successful, and resulted in her being hospitalized.”