piece of writing, written material, writing - the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing"

paper, theme, report, composition - an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got an A on his composition"

disquisition - an elaborate analytical or explanatory essay or discussion

memoir - an essay on a scientific or scholarly topic

attempt, effort, try, endeavor, endeavour - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try"

pick up the gauntlet, take a dare - be dared to do something and attempt it

act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"

struggle, fight - make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"

have a go, give it a try - make an attempt at something; "I never sat on a horse before but I'll give it a go"

grope - search blindly or uncertainly; "His mind groped to make the connection"

endeavor, endeavour, strive - attempt by employing effort; "we endeavor to make our customers happy"

give it a try, give it a whirl - try; "let's give it a whirl!"

adventure, gamble, run a risk, take a chance, take chances, risk, chance, hazard - take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome; "When you buy these stocks you are gambling"

lay on the line, put on the line, risk - expose to a chance of loss or damage; "We risked losing a lot of money in this venture"; "Why risk your life?"

judge - form an opinion of or pass judgment on; "I cannot judge some works of modern art"

verify, control - verify or regulate by conducting a parallel experiment or comparing with another standard, of scientific experiments; "Are you controlling for the temperature?"

float - circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with; "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"

field-test - test something under the conditions under which it will actually be used; "The Army field tested the new tanks"