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

Dassey’s conviction was overturned in August 2016, and a judge agreed in a June 2017 panel that his confession had been illegally obtained and that he should be released or retried within 90 days unless the case was further appealed. —Nicole Briese, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025

After hearings on the issue, a Centre County judge threw out the conviction and the district attorney decided this month not to retry the case. —Maryclaire Dale, Fortune, 29 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