tread
[verb]
Synonyms:
- step, hike, march, pace, stamp, stride, walk
- trample, crush underfoot, squash
[noun]
Synonyms:
- step, footfall, footstep, gait, pace, stride, walk

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Related Words: march, stride, tromp

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. tread¹ /tred/ verb (past tense trod /trɒd $ trɑːd/, past participle trodden /ˈtrɒdn $ ˈtrɑːdn/)
[Language: Old English; Origin: tredan]

1. STEP IN/ON [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] British English to put your foot on or in something while you are walking Synonym : step
tread in/on
Sorry, did I tread on your foot?
She trod barefoot on the soft grass.

2. tread carefully/warily/cautiously etc to be very careful about what you say or do in a difficult situation:
If I wanted to keep my job, I knew I’d have to tread lightly.

3. CRUSH
a) [transitive] British English to press or crush something into the floor or ground with your feet Synonym : track American English
tread something into/onto/over something
Stop treading mud all over my clean kitchen floor!
Bits of the broken vase got trodden into the carpet.
b) tread grapes to crush grapes with your feet in order to produce juice for making wine

4. tread a path British English written to take a particular action or series of actions:
Getting the right balance between home and work is a difficult path to tread.

5. tread water (past tense and past participle treaded)
a) to stay floating upright in deep water by moving your legs as if you are riding a bicycle
b) to make no progress in a particular situation, especially because you are waiting for something to happen:
All I could do was tread water until the contracts arrived.

6. WALK [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] literary to walk:
David trod wearily along behind the others.

7. tread the boards humorous to work as an actor
⇒ tread on sb’s toes at toe¹(3)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. tread² noun

1. [uncountable and countable] the pattern of lines on the part of a tyre that touches the road

2. [countable] the part of a stair that you put your foot on

3. [singular] literary the particular sound that someone makes when they walk:
I heard the back door bang, and Rex’s tread in the hall.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

tread
noun
I. sound you make when you are walking
ADJ. firm, heavy I heard his heavy tread moving about upstairs.
light, soft | measured, slow, steady
VERB + TREAD hear
TREAD + VERB move
PREP. with a … ~ A policeman walked by with a slow, measured tread.
PHRASES the tread of feet The streets have echoed to the tread of feet for more than ten centuries.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tread
II. on a tyre
ADJ. tyre, wheel | deep, shallow | worn
TREAD + VERB be worn The tyre tread has been worn below the legal limit.
TREAD + NOUN depth, pattern, width
PHRASES a breadth/depth/width of tread

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tread
verb
ADV. heavily He came down the stairs, treading as heavily as he could.
gently, lightly, softly | carefully, gingerly, warily She trod gingerly. It would be risky to hurry. (figurative) The government will have to tread carefully in handling this issue.
down She planted the seeds and trod the earth down.
PREP. in Billy trod in a big puddle.
into Some cake crumbs had been trodden into the carpet.
on Be careful not to tread on the flowers.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲