Definition of "essaying" [essaying]

• Present participle of essay. (verb)
• An Attempt; a try (noun)

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• "And, Sir, in essaying this supreme task we shall surely be influenced most of all by the traditions which the Briton bequeaths to us."
• "Would a student tenor singing Cavaradossi's opening aria from Tosca have no idea of the dramatic context, and would any aspiring mezzo, essaying the letter scene from Verdi's Macbeth, be so dumb as to say to Callas, of all people: "I'm not an actress, I'm just a singer"?"
• "Nat Pendleton plays a menacing heavy (big surprise) and Franklin Pangborn is on hand essaying his patented Flustered Hotel Clerk."