tread on someone's toes

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noun

one of the terminal digits of the human foot.

an analogous part in certain animals.

the forepart of the foot or hoof of a horse or the like.

the forepart of anything worn on the foot, as of a shoe or stocking.

a part resembling a toe in shape or position.

Railroads. the end of a frog in front of the point and in the direction of the switch.

Machinery.

a journal or part placed vertically in a bearing, as the lower end of a vertical shaft.

a curved partial cam lifting the flat surface of a follower and letting it drop; wiper.

Golf. the outer end of the head of a club.

verb (used with object)

to furnish with a toe or toes.

10.

to touch or reach with the toes: The pitcher toed the mound, wound up, and threw a fastball.

11.

to kick with the toe.

12.

Golf. to strike (the ball) with the toe of the club.

13.

Carpentry.

to drive (a nail) obliquely.

to toenail.

00:10

Tread on someone's toes is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used without object)

14.

to stand, walk, etc., with the toes in a specified position: to toe in.

15.

to tap with the toe, as in dancing.

Idioms

16.

on one's toes, energetic; alert; ready: The spirited competition kept them on their toes.

17.

step/tread on someone's toes, to offend (a person); encroach on the territory or sphere of responsibility of (another): The new employee stepped on a lot of toes when he suggested reorganizing the office.

18.

toe the line. line¹ ( def 83 ).

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English tā; cognate with Dutch teen, German Zehe, Old Norse tā

Related forms

toe·less, adjective

toe·like, adjective

Can be confused: toe, tow.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used without object)

to set down the foot or feet in walking; step; walk.

to step, walk, or trample so as to press, crush, or injure something (usually followed by on or upon ): to tread on a person's foot.

(of a male bird) to copulate.

verb (used with object)

to step or walk on, about, in, or along.

to trample or crush underfoot.

to form by the action of walking or trampling: to tread a path.

to treat with disdainful harshness or cruelty; crush; oppress.

to perform by walking or dancing: to tread a measure.

(of a male bird) to copulate with (a female bird).

noun

10.

the action of treading, stepping, or walking.

11.

the sound of footsteps.

12.

manner of treading or walking.

13.

a single step as in walking.

14.

any of various things or parts on which a person or thing treads, stands, or moves.

15.

the part of the under surface of the foot or of a shoe that touches the ground.

16.

the horizontal upper surface of a step in a stair, on which the foot is placed.

17.

the part of a wheel, tire, or runner that bears on the road, rail, etc. See diag. under tire².

18.

the pattern raised on or cut into the face of a rubber tire.

19.

caterpillar tread.

20.

Railroads. that part of a rail in contact with the treads of wheels.

Idioms

21.

tread on someone's toes/corns, to offend or irritate someone.

22.

tread the boards, to act on the stage, especially professionally: He recalled the days when he had trod the boards.

23.

tread water,

Swimming. to maintain the body erect in the water with the head above the surface usually by a pumping up-and-down movement of the legs and sometimes the arms.

Slang. to make efforts that maintain but do not further one's status, progress, or performance: He's just treading water here until he can find another job.

Origin:
before 900; (v.) Middle English treden, Old English tredan; cognate with Old Frisian treda, Old Saxon tredan, Dutch treden, German treten; akin to Old Norse trotha, Gothic trudan; (noun) Middle English tred footprint, derivative of the v.

Related forms

tread·er, noun

o·ver·tread, noun

sub·tread, noun

Link To tread on someone's toes

Collins

World English Dictionary

toe (təʊ)

—n
1.	any one of the digits of the foot
2.	the corresponding part in other vertebrates
3.	the part of a shoe, sock, etc, covering the toes
4.	anything resembling a toe in shape or position
5.	the front part of the head of a golf club, hockey stick, etc
6.	the lower bearing of a vertical shaft assembly
7.	the tip of a cam follower that engages the cam profile
8.	informal dip one's toe in, dip one's toes in to begin doing or try something new or unfamiliar
9.	on one's toes alert
10.	tread on someone's toes to offend or insult a person, esp by trespassing on his or her field of responsibility
11.	informal turn up one's toes to die
12.	slang (Austral) speed: a player with plenty of toe

—vb , toes, toeing, toed
13.	(tr) to touch, kick, or mark with the toe
14.	(tr) golf to strike (the ball) with the toe of the club
15.	(tr) to drive (a nail, spike, etc) obliquely
16.	(intr) to walk with the toes pointing in a specified direction: to toe inwards
17.	toe the line to conform to expected standards, attitudes, etc

[Old English tā; related to Old Frisian tāne, Old Norse tā, Old High German zēha, Latin digitus finger]

'toelike

—*adj*

tread (trɛd)

—vb (when intr, foll by on) (sometimes foll by on) , treads, treading, trod, trodden, trod
1.	to walk or trample in, on, over, or across (something)
2.	to crush or squash by or as if by treading: to tread grapes; to tread on a spider
3.	to subdue or repress, as by doing injury (to): to tread on one's inferiors
4.	(tr) to do by walking or dancing: to tread a measure
5.	(tr) (of a male bird) to copulate with (a female bird)
6.	tread lightly to proceed with delicacy or tact
7.	tread on someone's toes to offend or insult someone, esp by infringing on his sphere of action, etc
8.	tread water to stay afloat in an upright position by moving the legs in a walking motion

—n
9.	a manner or style of walking, dancing, etc: a light tread
10.	the act of treading
11.	the top surface of a step in a staircase
12.	the outer part of a tyre or wheel that makes contact with the road, esp the grooved surface of a pneumatic tyre
13.	the part of a rail that wheels touch
14.	the part of a shoe that is generally in contact with the ground
15.	vet science an injury to a horse's foot caused by the opposite foot, or the foot of another horse
16.	a rare word for footprint

[Old English tredan; related to Old Norse trotha , Old High German tretan, Swedish träda]

'treader

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

toe

O.E. ta (pl. tan), contraction of *tahe (Mercian tahæ), from P.Gmc. *taikhwo (cf. O.N. ta, O.Fris. tane, M.Du. te, Du. teen, O.H.G. zecha, Ger. Zehe "toe"), probably originally meaning "fingers" as well. Many PIE languages still use one word to mean both fingers and toes. The O.E. plural tan survived

in southwestern England to 14c. The verb meaning "touch or reach with the toes" is first recorded 1813, in expression to toe the mark. This phrase seems to be nautical in origin.

"The chief mate ... marked a line on the deck, brought the two boys up to it, making them 'toe the mark.' " [R.H. Dana, "Two Years Before the Mast," 1840]

Toenail is from 1841. To be on (one's) toes "alert, eager" is recorded from 1921.

tread

O.E. tredan (class V strong verb; past tense træd, pp. treden), from P.Gmc. *tredanan (cf. O.Fris. treda, M.Du. treden, O.H.G. tretan, Ger. treten, Goth. trudan, O.N. troða). The noun is recorded from early 13c., from the verb; in reference to automobile tires, it is recorded from 1906. Treadmill

invented (and named) 1822 by William Cubitt of Ipswich, England; originally an instrument of prison discipline.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

toe (tō)
n.
Any of the digits of a foot.

Matching Quote

"'Come, walk like this,' the dancer said,
'Stick you your toes—stick in your head,
Stalk on with quick, galvanic tread—
Your fingers thus extend;
The attitude's considered quaint,'"

-Sir William Schwenck Gilbert

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