tread (trĕd)

v., trod (trŏd), trod·den (trŏd'n), or trod, tread·ing, treads.

v.tr.

1. To walk on, over, or along.
2. To press beneath the feet; trample.
3. To subdue harshly or cruelly; crush.
4. To form by walking or trampling: tread a path.
5. To execute by walking or dancing: tread a measure.
6. To copulate with. Used of a male bird.

v.intr.

1. 1. To go on foot; walk.
   2. To set down the foot; step.
2. To press, crush, or injure something by or as if by trampling. Often used with on or upon: trod on her feelings.
3. To copulate. Used of birds.

n.

1. 1. The act, manner, or sound of treading.
   2. An instance of treading; a step.
   3. A mark made by treading, as in snow.
2. The upper horizontal part of a step in a staircase.
3. 1. The part of a wheel or tire that makes contact with the road or rails.
   2. The grooved face of a tire.
4. The part of a shoe sole that touches the ground.
5. Either of the continuous metal belts with which bulldozers, tanks, and certain other vehicles move over the ground.

idioms:

tread the boards

1. To act on the stage: "We who tread the boards are not the only players of parts in this world" (John Fowles).

tread water

1. To keep the head above water while in an upright position by pumping the legs.
2. To expend effort but make little or no progress to achievement of a goal or an end.

[Middle English treden, from Old English tredan.]

treadless tread'less adj.

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---