retry

1 of 2

verb

re·​try (ˌ)rē-ˈtrī 

retried; retrying

1

transitive + intransitive : to try (something) again to see if it is successful, working, or satisfactory

He retried downloading the program.

Turn the device and the router off for at least ten seconds, then turn them back on and retry the connection.

—Ankit Banerjee

a restaurant that might be worth retrying

After a certain number of failed attempts, the system will stop retrying.

2

transitive law : to try (someone or something) judicially for a second time

Prosecutors decided to retry the case.

retry a defendant

He was retried on the manslaughter charge.

retry

2 of 2

noun

re·​try ˈrē-ˌtrī 

plural retries

: a new attempt or try

The website loaded on the third retry.

Examples of retry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Prosecutors retried one of the men, John Kogut – who had made a coerced confession to the murder – but he was acquitted. —Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025

The court said Hernandez must be released or retried within a reasonable amount of time. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2025

Noun

Denver is 3-2 and could easily be 5-0 — its two losses came from walk-off field goals, and one of those kicks was a retry after a rare leverage penalty. —Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025

OEMs should prioritize infrastructure that automates collections, flags failed transactions and applies smart retry logic. —Hans Kristian Aas, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1673, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1960, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for retry

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

Legal Definition

retry

transitive verb

re·​try

ˌrē-ˈtrī

retried; retrying

: to try again