Definition, synonyms and related words
plural of essay
"The professor asked us to submit five essays based on our research for next week's seminar."
In plain English: Essays are short pieces of writing where someone shares their thoughts or opinions on a specific topic.
"The students spent their weekend writing short essays for their history class."
Usage: Use "essays" to refer to multiple short pieces of writing that explore a specific topic or argument. This plural form is distinct from "essay," which can also mean the act of trying something out, though that usage is less common in everyday speech.
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of essay
"The software automatically essays a new search query whenever it encounters an unrecognized term."
In plain English: To essay something means to try it out or attempt to do it, though this usage is very old and rarely heard today.
"Students spent the afternoon essays their homework before dinner."
Usage: Do not use "essays" as a verb to mean writing an article; instead, it means he or she attempts or endeavors to do something. For example, say "She essays the difficult climb," not "She essays her thoughts on the topic."
Derived from the French verb essayer, meaning "to try" or "to attempt," the term originally referred to short literary pieces that were experimental in nature. It entered English in the late 16th century, retaining its sense of an informal composition exploring a subject without rigid structure.