in trial—said of lawyers’ activities during trials:
- “Will you be home for dinner tonight?” “I don’t think so. I’m in trial all week, so I have to work late again.”
on trial—
1. being tried in a court of law for an offence:
- All those in the “know” maintain that it was a man who was never on trial.
2. in a state of probation (until it is seen whether a person is suitable for a position, etc.):
- I will take the maid for a month on trial.
3. when tried out or tested:
- Mr. Boyes found on trial that the stone would scratch glass. “I believe it to be a diamond,” he observed gravely.
Note: Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase at the trial—in the course of the legal process in a court of law:
- They were not allowed to say what they wanted to say at the trial.