| Front | tread |
|---|---|
| Back | tread verb, noun BrE /tred/ NAmE /tred/ verb verb forms word origin example bank (trod /BrE trɒd ; NAmE trɑːd/trod•den /BrE ˈtrɒdn; NAmE ˈtrɑːdn/or trod) 1 [intransitive] ~ (on/in/over sth/sb) (especially BrE) to put your foot down while you are stepping or walking Ouch! You trod on my toe! Careful you don't tread in that puddle. 2 [transitive] ~ sth (+ adv./prep.) to crush or press sth with your feet trample Don't tread ash into the carpet! The wine is still made by treading grapes in the traditional way. 3 [transitive, intransitive] ~ (sth) (formal or literary) to walk somewhere Few people had trod this path before. He was treading quietly and cautiously. tread ˈcarefully, ˈwarily, etc. to be very careful about what you do or say The government will have to tread very carefully in handling this issue. ˌtread a difficult, dangerous, solitary, etc. ˈpath to choose and follow a particular way of life, way of doing sth, etc A restaurant has to tread the tricky path between maintaining quality and keeping prices down. ˌtread on sb's ˈheels to follow sb closely ˌtread on sb's ˈtoes (especially BrE) (NAmE usually ˌstep on sb's ˈtoes) (informal) to offend or annoy sb, especially by getting involved in sth that is their responsibility I don't want to tread on anybody's toes so I'll keep quiet. ˌtread ˈwater 1 to keep yourself vertical in deep water by moving your arms and legs 2 to make no progress while you are waiting for sth to happen I decided to tread water until a better job came along. more at fools rush in (where angels fear to tread) at fool n., walk/tread a fine/thin line at line n., tread/walk a tightrope at tightrope noun word origin example bank 1 [singular] the way that sb walks; the sound that sb makes when they walk I heard his heavy tread on the stairs. 2 [countable, uncountable] the raised pattern on the surface of a tyre on a vehicle The tyres were worn below the legal limit of 1.6 mm of tread. 3 [countable] the upper surface of a step or stair compare riser |
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