Noun: essay 'e,sey
- An analytic or interpretive literary composition
"The student's essay on climate change was well-researched and thought-provoking"
- A tentative attempt
"His first essay at public speaking was a disaster"
- Make an effort to accomplish something
"The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps";
- try, seek, attempt, assay [archaic]
- Attempt to determine the quality, value, or truth of something by testing or experiment
"essay this recipe";
- test, prove, try, try out, examine, trial
Derived forms: essayed, essays, essaying
Type of: act, attempt, effort, endeavor [US], endeavour [Brit, Cdn], evaluate, judge, move, pass judgment, piece of writing, try, writing, written material
Encyclopedia: Essay, Orne