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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

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.

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

That metric is currently signaling that investors should tread carefully, Opsal said in a phone interview Monday.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

Starmer promised a politics that “would tread more lightly on voters’ lives” and would be guided by moderate policies aimed at fine-tuning the state rather than overhauling it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

The 24-year-old died after his car, which had insufficient tyre tread, left the A34 near Manchester and rolled before landing on its side on 26 May 2025.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

That’s all the more reason for investors in semiconductor stocks to tread cautiously.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

However it may prove, one must tread the path that need chooses!’

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Instead of tech stocks rising broadly, you might see chip-maker stocks start to heat up, or perhaps gold stocks may outperform while the broader commodities sector treads water.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 4, 2026

The parade this Saturday is said to cost $45 million, not counting the expense of disrupting much of the city for four days and repairing the damage done by tank treads.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2025

"We will reach net zero in a way that treads lightly on people's lives, not telling them how to live or behave," said the prime minister's official spokesman.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2025

Government investigators said the steel treads of the excavator struck rock and caused ignition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2024

It moved on tank treads and had what looked like a shopping cart attached to its front.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Sheinbaum has trod carefully in her gradual effort to rebuild bilateral relations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

Football legend Pele once trod its turf, and international sporting competitions have been held there.

From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 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

And Mr. Teavee said, “We can’t send him back to school like this! He’ll get trod upon! He’ll get squashed!”

From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl

“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

If he moved to Radio 2, this would follow a well-worn path previously trodden by Chris Evans and Zoe Ball, who hosted its breakfast show having previously done the same for Radio 1.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 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

This pathway is now so well trodden as to have become a trope: the male feminist who deeply, appallingly wasn’t.

From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2025

A little of the corn was trodden down.

From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill

“In this higher-rate environment, home price growth remains constrained, with housing largely treading water in nominal terms and falling in real terms,” said Nicholas Godec at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

"But to be polarising is to be talked about and to be cared about, and I think I'd always rather that than be constantly treading on eggshells and trying to dictate how people perceive you."

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

“Meanwhile, middle and lower income households, who are under more financial strain from high prices and weak income growth, are treading water.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

The May employment report, due Friday, will offer more clues on whether a broad rebound in hiring is under way — or whether the labor market is just treading water.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

“It’s time to wake everyone up for vitals,” he says, treading down the hall.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Related Words

• squash
• step on
• trample