tried

The word “tried” means tested repeatedly and proven to be reliable. In plain terms, either "proven reliable through experience" or "taken to court.".

“Tried” is pronounced tryd (/tɹaɪd/ in IPA).

Here is “tried” used in a sentence: “She used a tried and trusted family recipe.”

“Tried” is an adjective.

The word “tried” comes from Middle English. The past participle of try, from Middle English tried.

“Tried” is a very common word in modern English.

“Tried” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: tested repeatedly and proven to be reliable.

'Tried and tested' describes something proven to work well through repeated use over time — a tried and tested method is one you can rely on because it has succeeded again and again. The similar phrase 'tried and true' means the same thing. Here 'tried' means tested in practice and found dependable.

As an adjective, 'tried' means proven reliable through repeated testing — a tried and trusted friend. As the past tense of 'try', it simply means attempted — 'she tried to call.' Same spelling, different jobs: one describes something dependable, the other reports an action that was attempted.

The two often appear together as 'tried and trusted.' 'Tried' means tested many times and shown to work; 'trusted' means relied upon with confidence. Something becomes trusted because it has been tried. They reinforce each other — one earns reliability through testing, the other grants it through confidence.