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Webster 1913 Edition

Tread

Tread

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp.
Trod
;
p. p.
Trodden
,
Trod
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Treading
.]
[OE.
treden
, AS.
tredan
; akin to OFries.
treda
, OS.
tredan
, D. & LG.
treden
, G.
treten
, OHG.
tretan
, Icel.
tro[GREEK]a
, Sw.
tråda
,
träda
, Dan.
træde
, Goth.
trudan
, and perhaps ultimately to F.
tramp
; cf. Gr. [GREEK] a running, Skr.
dram
to run. Cf.
Trade
,
Tramp
,
Trot
.]
1.
To set the foot; to step.
Where’er you
tread
, the blushing flowers shall rise.
Pope.
Fools rush in where angels fear to
tread
.
Pope.
The hard stone
Under our feet, on which we
tread
and go.
Chaucer.
2.
To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a cautious step.
Ye that . . . stately
tread
, or lowly creep.
Milton.
3.
To copulate; said of birds, esp. the males.
Shak.
To tread on
or
To tread upon
.
(a)
To trample; to set the foot on in contempt.
“Thou shalt tread upon their high places.”
Deut. xxxiii. 29.
(b)
to follow closely.
“Year treads on year.”
Wordsworth.
–
To tread upon the heels of
,
to follow close upon.
“Dreadful consequences that tread upon the heels of those allowances to sin.”
Milton.
One woe doth
tread upon
another's
heel
.
Shakespeare

Tread

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To step or walk on.
Forbid to
tread
the promised land he saw.
Prior.
Methought she
trod
the ground with greater grace.
Dryden.
2.
To beat or press with the feet;
as, to
tread
a path; to
tread
land when too light; a well-
trodden
path
.
3.
To go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, or the like.
“ I am resolved to forsake Malta, tread a pilgrimage to fair Jerusalem.”
Beau. & Fl.
They have measured many a mile,
To
tread
a measure with you on this grass.
Shakespeare
4.
To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred; to subdue.
Through thy name will we
tread
them under that rise up against us.
Ps. xliv. 5.
5.
To copulate with; to feather; to cover; – said of the male bird.
Chaucer.
To tread out
,
to press out with the feet; to press out, as wine or wheat; as, to tread out grain with cattle or horses.
–
To tread the stage
,
to act as a stageplayer; to perform a part in a drama.

Tread

,
Noun.
1.
A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; a footstep;
as, a nimble
tread
; a cautious tread.
She is coming, my own, my sweet;
Were it ever so airy a
tread
,
My heart would hear her and beat.
Tennyson.
2.
Manner or style of stepping; action; gait;
as, the horse has a good
tread
.
3.
Way; track; path.
[R.]
Shak.
4.
The act of copulation in birds.
5.
(Arch.)
The upper horizontal part of a step, on which the foot is placed.
6.
(Fort.)
The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand to fire over the parapet.
7.
(Mach.)
(a)
The part of a wheel that bears upon the road or rail.
(b)
The part of a rail upon which car wheels bear.
8.
(Biol.)
The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle.
9.
(Far.)
A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle of a horse that interferes. See
Interfere
, 3.

Webster 1828 Edition

Tread

TREAD

,
Verb.
I.
tred. pret. trod; pp. trod, troden. [L. trudo.]
1.
To set the foot.
Where'er you tread, the blushing flow'rs shall rise.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
2.
To walk or go.
Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread, shall be yours. Deut.11.
3.
To walk with form or state.
Ye that stately tread, or lowly creep.
4.
To copulate, as fowls.
To tread or tread on, to trample; to set the foot on in contempt.
Thou shalt tread upon their high places. Det.33.

TREAD

,
Verb.
T.
tred. To step or walk on.
Forbid to tread the promis'd land he saw.
1.
To press under the feet.
2.
To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to tread land when too light; a well trodden path.
3.
To walk in a formal or stately manner.
He thought she trod the ground with greater grace.
4.
To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred, or to subdue. Ps.44. 60.
5.
To compress, as a fowl.
To tread the state, to act as a stage-player; to perform a part in a drama.
To tread or tread out, to press out with the feet; to press out wine or wheat; as, to tread out grain with cattle or horses.
They tread their wine presses and suffer thirst. Job.24.

TREAD

,
Noun.
tred. A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; as a nimble tread; cautious tread; doubtful tread.
1.
Way; track; path. [Little used.]
2.
Compression of the male fowl.
3.
Manner of stepping; as, a horse has a good tread.

Definition 2024

tread

tread

English

Verb

tread ‎(third-person singular simple present treads, present participle treading, simple past and past participle trod or tread or trodden)

  1. (intransitive) To step or walk (on or over something); to trample.
    He trod back and forth wearily.
    Don't tread on the lawn.
    • Alexander Pope
      Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
    • Milton
      ye that […] stately tread, or lowly creep
  2. (transitive) To step or walk upon.
    Actors tread the boards.
  3. To beat or press with the feet.
    to tread a path; to tread land when too light; a well-trodden path
  4. To go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, etc.
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      I am resolved to forsake Malta, tread a pilgrimage to fair Jerusalem.
    • Shakespeare
      They have measured many a mile, / To tread a measure with you on this grass.
  5. To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred; to subdue.
    • Bible, Psalms xliv. 5
      Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
  6. (intransitive) To copulate; said of (especially male) birds.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  7. (transitive, of a male bird) To copulate with.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
Usage notes
  • "Treaded" is not commonly used in the UK and is less common in the US as well. It is apparently used more often in tread water.
  • Tread is sometimes used as a past and past participle, especially in the US.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From the above verb.

Noun

the tread on a car tyre
the sole of a pair of trainers showing the tread
diagram of a set of steps showing the tread

tread ‎(plural treads)

  1. A step.
  2. A manner of stepping.
    • Tennyson
      She is coming, my own, my sweet; / Were it ever so airy a tread, / My heart would hear her and beat.
  3. (obsolete) A way; a track or path.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  4. The grooves carved into the face of a tire, used to give the tire traction. [from 1900s]
  5. The grooves on the bottom of a shoe or other footwear, used to give grip or traction.
  6. The horizontal part of a step in a flight of stairs.
  7. The sound made when someone or something is walking.
    • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
      The steps fell lightly and oddly, with a certain swing, for all they went so slowly; it was different indeed from the heavy creaking tread of Henry Jekyll. Utterson sighed. "Is there never anything else?" he asked.
    • 1896, Bret Harte, Barker's Luck and Other Stories
      But when, after a singularly heavy tread and the jingle of spurs on the platform, the door flew open to the newcomer, he seemed a realization of our worst expectations.
  8. (biology) The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle.
  9. The act of copulation in birds.
  10. (fortification) The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand to fire over the parapet.
  11. A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle of a horse that interferes, or strikes its feet together.
Synonyms
  • (horizontal part of a step): run
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

See also

Anagrams

References

  1. ↑ Use of expression in delicate situations; be nice

Etymology

From Middle English treden, from Old English tredan ‎(“to tread, step on, trample, traverse, pass over, enter upon, roam through”), from Proto-Germanic *tredaną, *trudaną. Cognate with West Frisian trêdzje, Low German treden, Dutch treden, German treten, Danish træde, Swedish träda, Norwegian treda.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tɹɛd/
  • Rhymes: -ɛd

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