attempt

1 an effort to do or accomplish something it took several attempts before we made good ice cream with an old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream freezer Synonyms assay [archaic], bash [chiefly British], bid, crack, endeavor, essay, fling, go, offer, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, whack, whirl Related Words striving, struggle, throes, undertaking; trial and error

2 the act or action of setting upon with force or violence several attempts on the life of the country's chief drug enforcement official Synonyms aggression, assault, attack, blitz, blitzkrieg, charge, coup de main, descent, offense (or offence), offensive, onset, onslaught, raid, rush, strikeRelated Words ambuscade, ambush; counteraggression, counterassault, counterattack, counteroffensive, counterstrike; sally, sortie; envelopment, flanking; breakthrough, foray, incursion, invasion; pillage, ravage, sack; air raid, bombardment, bombing; siege, storm; barrage, cannonade, fusillade, hail, salvo, volley; whammyNear Antonyms defense, defensive, guard, shield; opposition, resistance; protection, security, shelter