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

The eurozone’s biggest borrower needs to tread a delicate political path because actually canceling bonds would punish savers in many other countries too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

So, Kemi Badenoch will tread the same stage ageing rockers Marillion took last month - and where sequinned soprano Katherine Jenkins will perform next week.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 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

They did not know how to tread this new path they had chosen, and sometimes it hurt so much that Kaede had to turn her back on Taisin.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

Though a lighter film, 1999 winner “Shakespeare in Love” treads the same boards, imagining a young, struggling Will and the woman who spurs him to greatness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026

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

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

A thin gray sludge trickled from her boot treads onto the cream-colored linoleum.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

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

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

It took three more underwater renditions of the egg’s song before Harry had it memorized; then he trod water for a while, thinking hard, while Myrtle sat and watched him.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

The "stunning" route was nominated by Amanda Jane Baldwin, who said she has trodden the path "more times than I can count" since moving to Winscombe seven years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 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

The path to investment success is easy to find because it’s well trodden and simple.

From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025

Some of those will cover ground trodden in his successful Mirror Group case in 2023 and, just like in that case, he will give evidence in person.

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2025

She then shoved me aside, and to my moral horror, began wiping with her dress the steps where I had trodden.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

So you’d be more or less treading water between your returns and inflation with your money stashed in cash equivalents.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

After rallying to highs of $82,000 earlier this month, bitcoin traded around $77,400 Friday, with other coins also treading water amid the lack of regulatory clarity and the Federal Reserve’s risk-sapping rate hike Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Actors, writers, production staff and movie fans are still resistant to the overuse of AI and defining when and where it is acceptable, so studios are treading lightly, said AI film studio CEO Mooser.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 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

He turned towards the bank for one last look, treading water, feeling foolish for having been so sure.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

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Related Words

• squash
• step on
• trample

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