trying on
- noun
- He spent the afternoon trying on different suits for the upcoming wedding.
- trying on clothes
- trying on dresses
- trying on shoes
I'm afraid of trying on the clothes I know do not fit.
- I'm afraid of trying on the clothes I know do not fit.
- And honestly, first trying on those neural lenses was a bit different.
- Great all right, so that was my koi shoe haul review try on.
Examples
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She's in the city trying on a wedding dress here in Manhattan today.
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Yeah, 'cause trying on clothes is fun.
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I was just trying on my birthday present.
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I'm trying on some clothes.
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Meanwhile, Lucy has been trying on a simple brown shoe.
Fiction book (2001) -
Men were sitting on the curb trying on shoes.
Fiction book (1991) -
I think I spent at least 20 minutes trying on and admiring one of their jackets.
Blog text (11) -
But after lots of humming and hawing and trying on a lot of dresses, I made my decision.
Blog text (28) -
Today's video is going to be me trying on eBay prom dresses.
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Across the room, we see Pappas trying on purple wraparound sunglasses.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
An occasion when clothes are tried on to check the fit
An act of putting on clothes to see if they fit or look good
The act of putting on clothes
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the act of putting on clothes to see if they fit' is directly derivable from combining 'try' (to test) with the particle 'on' (indicating putting on or wearing); the nominalized form does not obscure the compositional relation. This verb+particle construction is a common, productive pattern in English (and has clear parallels in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Trying on comes from the simple action of trying clothes on your body to check how they fit or look. So it means 'the act of putting on clothes to see if they fit or suit you'.