english
1
general::
Phrase(s): on trial 1. [of someone] in a legal case before a judge. • The criminal was on trial for over three months. • I am not on trial. Don’t treat me like that! 2. being tested; being examined or experimented with. • The new strain of wheat is on trial in Kansas at the present time. • The teaching method is on trial in the school system.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
1. In the process of being tried, especially in a court of law. For example, He would be put on trial for the murder of his wife. [Early 1700s] 2. As a test of something, on probation, as in They said we could take the vacuum cleaner on trial and return it if it was too noisy. [Early 1700s]
American Heritage Idioms