/ əˈtempt; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C , U ] attempt (to do sth) | attempt (at sth / at doing sth) an act of trying to do sth, especially sth difficult, often with no success :
Two factories were closed in an attempt to cut costs.
They made no attempt to escape.
I passed my driving test at the first attempt .
The couple made an unsuccessful attempt at a compromise.
2.
[ C ] attempt (on sb/sb's life) an act of trying to kill sb :
Someone has made an attempt on the President's life .
3.
[ C ] attempt (on sth) an effort to do better than sth, such as a very good performance in sport :
his attempt on the world land speed record
■ verb
to make an effort or try to do sth, especially sth difficult :
[ v to inf ]
I will attempt to answer all your questions.
Do not attempt to repair this yourself.
[ vn ]
The prisoners attempted an escape, but failed.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French attempter , from Latin attemptare , from ad- to + temptare to tempt.