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

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

Accordingly, Judge Poland entered a default judgment into the record, which gave Midland Credit Management the right to tread on his bank account and garnish his wages.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

“You would think he will tread very carefully there,” Knightley says.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Knobby tread is made for the dirt, not the street.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

This includes fully working lights and electrics, tyres in good condition with sufficient tread and the overall condition of the vehicle.

From BBC ● May 23, 2026

Into view, moving with a velvet tread that equaled his own, came what appeared to be a large cat.

From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford

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

While the amateurs pushed 40 mph on the 1/8 scale model racetrack, that Sunday morning in March, the pros waited in the pits, supergluing new treads on their tires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2025

As Guardiola treads water at Manchester City we are waiting to find out where the sport goes next.

From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2025

We got into the car without word one being spoken, and on the actual ride, it was so quiet between us that I imagined I could hear the tire treads rubbing against the road.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

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

This week he has trod the boards at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, hitting two half-centuries and an unbeaten 111 as England completed a rare one-day international series win.

From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2026

Asian markets trod water Thursday as euphoria over the end of a record US government shutdown petered, with focus back on Federal Reserve interest rates and tech bubble worries.

From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025

In my first fleeing step, I trod my bare foot right on that red-hot coal.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

“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 for decades trodden a fine line between China, its top trading partner, and the United States, its chief defence guarantor.

From Barron's ● Jan. 4, 2026

The flooring, believed to have been once trodden on by the playwright and actor, was discovered at St George's Guildhall in King's Lynn, Norfolk, in 2023.

From BBC ● May 16, 2025

Behind him, the wood of the staircase settled back upon itself, after he had trodden it.

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

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

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

“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

She longed to swim again, to strike out and stop treading, but she didn’t know which way to head.

From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder

Related Words

• squash
• step on
• trample