AAAmerican Accent US

try on

Separable

The object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: try ON. Saying “TRY on” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

A glide appears. Two vowels meet, so American English slips a /j/ between them: “try on” → “try-yon”. You do not insert it deliberately — it falls out of not stopping between the words.

What it means

  1. To put clothing on to see whether it fits or suits you.

    • “Try it on before you buy it.”
    • “She tried on four pairs and bought none.”

Don’t confuse it with

try outTo test something to see whether it works or you like it.

Try ON is only for clothing. Try OUT is testing anything else, or auditioning for a team.

The particle logic

on

Something starts running, keeps running, or sits on a surface.

Listen + practice

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More TRY phrasal verbs

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try out

To test something to see whether it works or you like it.

try on — meaning, examples & how to say it