tread
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.
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).
the action of treading, stepping, or walking.
the sound of footsteps.
manner of treading or walking.
a single step as in walking.
any of various things or parts on which a person or thing treads, stands, or moves.
the part of the under surface of the foot or of a shoe that touches the ground.
the horizontal upper surface of a step in a stair, on which the foot is placed.
the part of a wheel, tire, or runner that bears on the road, rail, etc.
the pattern raised on or cut into the face of a rubber tire.
Also caterpillar tread . a metal tread on which a Caterpillar-style vehicle moves.
Railroads. that part of a rail in contact with the treads of wheels.
Idioms about tread
tread lightly / carefully / softly. See entry at tread lightly.
tread on someone's toes / corns, to offend or irritate someone.
tread the boards, to act on the stage, especially professionally: He recalled the days when he had trod the boards.
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 of tread
1Other words from tread
- tread·er, noun
- o·ver·tread, noun
- sub·tread, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tread in a sentence
Look for a lightweight boot with a good, rubbery grip and deep treads to keep your tiny tot standing upright in the snow.
Best snow boots: Trudge confidently through snowfall | PopSci Commerce Team | February 17, 2021 | Popular-ScienceTo find out which chemicals were responsible for the die-offs, the researchers exposed juvenile coho salmon to water contaminated by tread particles from new and used tires.
Salmon are dying off and your car tires might be to blame | Kate Baggaley | December 4, 2020 | Popular-ScienceAsking Beal to remain patient for Wall’s return was a tough sell for both parties, not to mention a fan base watching its team tread water.
Wizards’ deal of John Wall for Russell Westbrook is the right move, but packed with risk | Ben Golliver | December 3, 2020 | Washington PostThe Magician King is connected to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by a whole web of allusions.
When one has been downtrodden one's whole life, one becomes accustomed to it, and besides she loved the down-treader.
The Butterfly House | Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
But one love and reverence remained—that for Shelley, the Sun-treader, and kept him from being "wholly lost."
The Poetry Of Robert Browning | Stopford A. BrookeDoes nature, even in my octogenarian carcase, run too strong that I must be still a bawler and a brawler and a treader upon corns?
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25) | Robert Louis Stevenson
British Dictionary definitions for tread
/ (trɛd) /
to walk or trample in, on, over, or across (something)
(when intr, foll by on) to crush or squash by or as if by treading: to tread grapes; to tread on a spider
(intr sometimes foll by on) to subdue or repress, as by doing injury (to): to tread on one's inferiors
(tr) to do by walking or dancing: to tread a measure
(tr) (of a male bird) to copulate with (a female bird)
tread lightly to proceed with delicacy or tact
tread on someone's toes to offend or insult someone, esp by infringing on his sphere of action, etc
tread water to stay afloat in an upright position by moving the legs in a walking motion
a manner or style of walking, dancing, etc: a light tread
the act of treading
the top surface of a step in a staircase
the outer part of a tyre or wheel that makes contact with the road, esp the grooved surface of a pneumatic tyre
the part of a rail that wheels touch
the part of a shoe that is generally in contact with the ground
vet science an injury to a horse's foot caused by the opposite foot, or the foot of another horse
a rare word for footprint
Origin of tread
1Derived forms of tread
- treader, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with tread
In addition to the idioms beginning with tread
- tread the boards
- tread water
also see:
- fools rush in where angels fear to tread
- step (tread) on one's toes
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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