- 1[countable, uncountable] an act of trying to do something, especially something difficult, often with no success I passed my driving test on the first attempt. attempt to do something Two factories were closed in an attempt to cut costs. They made no attempt to escape. attempt at something/at doing something The couple made an unsuccessful attempt at a compromise.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- 2[countable] attempt (on somebody/on somebody's life) an act of trying to kill someone Someone has made an attempt on the president's life. an assassination/murder attempt
- 3[countable] attempt (on something) an effort to do better than something, such as a very good performance in sports his attempt on the world land speed record a world-record attempt
Check pronunciation: attempt