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Synonyms

treadle

American  
[tred-l] / ˈtrɛd l /

noun

  1. a lever or the like worked by continual action of the foot to impart motion to a machine.

  2. a platform, as on a bus or trolleycar, for opening an exit door.

verb (used without object)

treadled, treadling

  1. to work a treadle.

treadle British  
/ ˈtrɛdəl /

noun

    1. a rocking lever operated by the foot to drive a machine

    2. ( as modifier )

      a treadle sewing machine
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to work (a machine) with a treadle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • treadler noun

Etymology

Origin of treadle

before 1000; Middle English tredel stairstep, Old English. See tread, -le

Vocabulary lists containing treadle

The Industrial Revolution - Introductory

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The Industrial Revolution - Middle School and High School

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The beavers were captured using four large traps, which shut behind the animals when they step on a treadle inside.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

If you have room, there are treadle feeders that are rat resistant you can use in the coop.

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2022

Later her mother let her use the treadle sewing machine.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 11, 2018

We've created an innovative line of irrigation products including four models of foot-operated treadle pumps, 250-gallon water storage tanks for farms and gravity-fed drip irrigation systems.

From Scientific American • Feb. 8, 2013

He is sitting at his sewing machine, right shoe still on the foot treadle.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.