This is the 8620th most frequent Polish word.
próbowano
"Próbowano" means "it was attempted" or "someone attempted."
Here, 'próbowano' reflects the attempt to perform the action, emphasizing the action over details of who performed it.
Próbowano otworzyć drzwi, ale były zablokowane.
An effort was made to open the door, but it was blocked.
In this case, 'próbowano' implies the act of trying to call for help under challenging circumstances, again using an impersonal passive approach to frame the action.
W trakcie pożaru próbowano wezwać pomoc.
During the fire, an attempt was made to call for help.
The word 'próbowano' is used here to indicate that some effort or attempt was made to achieve the stated goal, using passive voice to point to implicit agents making the attempt.