tread

American  

[tred] / trɛd /

verb (used without object)

• treads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trod,
  past participle,  past
• trodden,
  past participle
• treading
  present participle

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

2. to step, walk, or trample so as to press, crush, or injure something (usually followed by on orupon ).

   to tread on a person's foot.

3. (of a male bird) to copulate.

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verb (used with object)

• treads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trod,
  past participle,  past
• trodden,
  past participle
• treading
  present participle

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

2. to trample or crush underfoot.

3. to form by the action of walking or trampling.

   to tread a path.

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

5. to perform by walking or dancing.

   to tread a measure.

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

noun

• treads
  plural

1. the action of treading, stepping, or walking.

2. the sound of footsteps.

3. manner of treading or walking.

4. a single step as in walking.

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

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

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

8. the part of a wheel, tire, or runner that bears on the road, rail, etc.

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

10. Also caterpillar tread a metal tread on which a Caterpillar-style vehicle moves.

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

idioms

1. tread the boards, to act on the stage, especially professionally.

   He recalled the days when he had trod the boards.

2. tread water,

   1. 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.

   2. 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.

3. tread lightly / carefully / softly. see tread lightly.

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

tread British  

/ trɛd /

verb

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. to proceed with delicacy or tact

7. to offend or insult someone, esp by infringing on his sphere of action, etc

8. to stay afloat in an upright position by moving the legs in a walking motion

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noun

1. a manner or style of walking, dancing, etc

   a light tread

2. the act of treading

3. the top surface of a step in a staircase

4. the outer part of a tyre or wheel that makes contact with the road, esp the grooved surface of a pneumatic tyre

5. the part of a rail that wheels touch

6. the part of a shoe that is generally in contact with the ground

7. vet science an injury to a horse's foot caused by the opposite foot, or the foot of another horse

8. a rare word for footprint

tread More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tread

• fools rush in where angels fear to tread
• step (tread) on one's toes

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overtread
  noun
• subtread
  noun
• treader
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• treads
  plural

Participles

• treading
  present
• trod
  past
• trodden
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tread
  simple
• treads
  simple
• have trod
  perfect
• have trodden
  perfect
• has trod
  perfect
• has trodden
  perfect
• am treading
  progressive
• are treading
  progressive
• is treading
  progressive
• have been treading
  perfect progressive
• has been treading
  perfect progressive

Past

• trod
  simple
• had trod
  perfect
• had trodden
  perfect
• was treading
  progressive
• were treading
  progressive
• had been treading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tread
  simple
• will have trod
  perfect
• will have trodden
  perfect
• will be treading
  progressive
• will have been treading
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of tread

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.

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Explanation

When you tread on the earth, you walk on it. The next time your pal thinks you have it too easy, you might ask him, “Why don’t you tread in my shoes for a day?” Tread usually implies stepping with force, but it can also simply mean placing your feet, one after the other, on the ground. You might try to tread lightly on the moss in the backyard so you don't damage it. Tread is also a noun that means the mark that a tire leaves on the ground, or the actual grooves on the tire. You might be relieved that the tread marks at the crime scene didn't match your brother's truck after all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tread treads trod trodden treading

Around two dozen officers tread lightly and speak in hushed tones as they gather outside the block door.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

“We are trying to at least tread water.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

“Everyone around the primary grievers need to tread lightly,” she notes.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

I could locate no source for the middle mystery, but its theatrical setting is a favorite of such series; any that last long enough will eventually tread those boards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

An elephant’s tread is heard on the stairway.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

In some ways the movie treads similar ground as “You Can See Everything,” both films taking shape as dramas of documentary-making and the ethical and personal conflicts it engenders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Beyond a couple of scuff marks and some debris jammed into the treads, our sojourn had left the shoes looking much as they had when I’d first taken them off the shelf.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

Apple, like many networks, treads very carefully around topics that could be divisive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025

A government-backed pay rise of 4.2% for police officers in England and Wales "barely treads water", the association representing front-line officers says.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025

He gets up and treads slowly to the pulpit.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

EU trade ministers meeting in Brussels Friday trod a fine line, stressing that the EU-China relationship was important, but more balance was needed.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

Katherine Mansfield could write wonderful lines such as: “The men walked like scissors; the women trod like cats.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Now, to help round out its pipeline, Pfizer is looking to China, following the path trod by many of its peers in recent months.

From Barron's ● Dec. 9, 2025

Tourists have long come here, whether to day-trip through hiking trails where prophets once trod or visit the village’s different churches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025

They trod back to the house silently, along the path they knew better than anything anyone had ever taught them.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

But when he joined the Reds in 2017, he was all too aware of the legacy of some great Scots who had trodden the same path before him.

From BBC ● May 23, 2026

“We’ll likely follow the same path we’ve trodden in the United States, and so it will begin with a commercial footprint.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Seoul has long trodden a fine line between top trading partner China and defence guarantor the United States.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

As a teenage travelling reserve for Saracens, he spent a coach trip to Newcastle composing poetry., external More recently he has trodden the catwalk as a model.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2025

His old dog, Pilot, lay on one side, removed out of the way, and coiled up as if afraid of being inadvertently trodden upon.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Its Director David Aikman said that "treading water is not enough" to prevent the national debt from rising.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

"There is a sense that the candidates are treading carefully to avoid offending the US and other veto powers."

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The S&P 500 has been treading water for more than a month now, but beneath the surface of the U.S. equity market, big changes are taking shape.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

UC officials say they are treading carefully, knowing their debate on testing could later be turned against the university.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

There was a carpet on the floor more wonderfully colored than anything he had ever seen and his feet sank down into it as if he were treading in thick moss.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

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Related Words

• squash
• step on
• trample

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