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| Language: | Old English |
| Origin: | tredan |
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tread1
past tense trod, past participle trodden
past tense trod, past participle trodden1 to put your foot on or in something while you are walking [= step]
step in/on
[intransitive always + adverb/preposition] British English2 to be very careful about what you say or do in a difficult situation : If I wanted to keep my job, I knew I'd have to tread lightly.
tread carefully/warily/cautiously etc
If I wanted to keep my job, I knew I'd have to tread lightly.3
crush
a) [transitive] British English to press or crush something into the floor or ground with your feet [= track American English]
tread something into/onto/over something Stop treading mud all over my clean kitchen floor! Bits of the broken vase got trodden into the carpet.
Stop treading mud all over my clean kitchen floor!Bits of the broken vase got trodden into the carpet.4 to take a particular action or series of actions : Getting the right balance between home and work is a difficult path to tread.
tread a path
British English writtenGetting the right balance between home and work is a difficult path to tread.5
tread water
past tense and past participle treadeda) DSS to stay floating upright in deep water by moving your legs as if you are riding a bicycle
b) to make no progress in a particular situation, especially because you are waiting for something to happen : All I could do was tread water until the contracts arrived.
All I could do was tread water until the contracts arrived.6 to walk : David trod wearily along behind the others.
walk
[intransitive,transitive always + adverb/preposition] literaryDavid trod wearily along behind the others.