essay
verb/eˈseɪ/
/eˈseɪ/
(literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they essay | /eˈseɪ/ /eˈseɪ/ |
| he / she / it essays | /eˈseɪz/ /eˈseɪz/ |
| past simple essayed | /eˈseɪd/ /eˈseɪd/ |
| past participle essayed | /eˈseɪd/ /eˈseɪd/ |
| -ing form essaying | /eˈseɪɪŋ/ /eˈseɪɪŋ/ |
- essay something to try to do somethingWord Originlate 15th cent. (as a verb in the sense ‘test the quality of’): alteration of assay, by association with Old French essayer, based on late Latin exagium ‘weighing’, from the base of exigere ‘ascertain, weigh’; the noun (late 16th cent.) is from Old French essai ‘trial’.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
essay