You could argue the definition, but if you take "attempt" to be the actual act which might kill you, which is fairly normal usage, then preparatory acts short o

You could argue the definition, but if you take "attempt" to be the actual act which might kill you, which is fairly normal usage, then preparatory acts short of the final act would count as 'almost attempt'. (It's a fairly awkward phrase, and you wouldn't say "I almost attempted to run a marathon", say, but "attempt suicide" has a fairly specific commonly-understood meaning where 'attempt' is unusually restrictive vs general usage)