try out
SeparableThe 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 OUT. Saying “TRY out” 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 out” → “try-yout”. You do not insert it deliberately — it falls out of not stopping between the words.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is try OUT, the noun is TRYOUT. Same two words, different beat — “to try OUT” is the action, “a tryout” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
2 meanings
- 1
To test something to see whether it works or you like it.
- “I want to try out that new coffee place.”
- “We tried the software out for a month before buying.”
Similar: test, sample
- 2
To audition or compete for a place on a team.
- “He tried out for the varsity team twice.”
Similar: audition