The noun trial has 7 senses (first 7 from tagged texts)
1. (664) trial -- ((law) legal proceedings consisting of the judicial examination of issues by a competent tribunal; "most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial")
2. (117) test, trial, run -- (the act of testing something; "in the experimental trials the amount of carbon was measured separately"; "he called each flip of the coin a new trial")
3. (26) trial -- ((sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications; "the trials for the semifinals began yesterday")
4. (22) trial -- ((law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law; "he had a fair trial and the jury found him guilty")
5. (18) trial, trial run, test, tryout -- (trying something to find out about it; "a sample for ten days free trial"; "a trial of progesterone failed to relieve the pain")
6. (10) trial, tribulation, visitation -- (an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event; "his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him"; "life is full of tribulations"; "a visitation of the plague")
7. (10) test, trial -- (the act of undergoing testing; "he survived the great test of battle"; "candidates must compete in a trial of skill")