Tread
[tred] or [trɛd]
Definition
(noun.) structural member consisting of the horizontal part of a stair or step.
(noun.) the part (as of a wheel or shoe) that makes contact with the ground.
(noun.) the grooved surface of a pneumatic tire.
(verb.) brace (an archer's bow) by pressing the foot against the center.
(verb.) mate with; 'male birds tread the females'.
(verb.) crush as if by treading on; 'tread grapes to make wine'.
(verb.) tread or stomp heavily or roughly; 'The soldiers trampled across the fields'.
(verb.) apply (the tread) to a tire.
Editor: Timmy--From WordNet
Definition
(v. i.) To set the foot; to step.
(v. i.) To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a cautious step.
(v. i.) To copulate; said of birds, esp. the males.
(v. t.) To step or walk on.
(v. t.) To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to tread land when too light; a well-trodden path.
(v. t.) To go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, or the like.
(v. t.) To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred; to subdue.
(v. t.) To copulate with; to feather; to cover; -- said of the male bird.
(n.) A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; a footstep; as, a nimble tread; a cautious tread.
(n.) Manner or style of stepping; action; gait; as, the horse has a good tread.
(n.) Way; track; path.
(n.) The act of copulation in birds.
(n.) The upper horizontal part of a step, on which the foot is placed.
(n.) The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand to fire over the parapet.
(n.) The part of a wheel that bears upon the road or rail.
(n.) The part of a rail upon which car wheels bear.
(n.) The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle.
(n.) A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle of a horse that interferes. See Interfere, 3.
Edited by Bertram
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. n. [1]. Set the foot.[2]. Walk, go.
v. a. [1]. Set the foot on, walk on.[2]. Stamp upon, press down with the foot.[3]. Cover (as a male bird the female), copulate with.
n. [1]. Step, pace.[2]. Gait, manner of walking.
Edited by Bernice
Definition
v.i. to set the foot down: to walk or go: to copulate as fowls.—v.t. to walk on: to press with the foot: to trample in contempt: to subdue:—pa.t. trod; pa.p. trod or trod′den.—n. pressure with the foot: a step way of stepping.—ns. Tread′er; Tread′ing; Tread′le Tred′dle the part of any machine which the foot moves.—vs.i. to work a treadle.—ns. Tread′ler; Tread′ling; Tread′-mill a mill in which a rotary motion is produced by the weight of a person or persons treading or stepping from one to another of the steps of a cylindrical wheel used chiefly as an instrument of prison discipline; Tread′-wheel a form of tread-mill with steps on its exterior surface by treading on which the wheel is turned.—Tread down to trample to destruction; Tread in one's footsteps or steps to follow one's example; Tread on or upon to trample with contempt: to come close after; Tread on one's toes to give offence to one; Tread on or upon the heels of to follow close after; Tread out to press out with the feet: to extinguish; Tread underfoot to treat with scorn: to destroy.
Checked by Blanchard
Examples
- There was a jaded aspect on the business lanes and courts, and the very pavements had a weary appearance, confused by the tread of a million of feet. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- In a place like this I'm sure to upset something, tread on people's toes, or do something dreadful, so I keep out of mischief and let Meg sail about. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- About the middle of the letter I heard--what checked my pen--a tread in the vestibule. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Two resolute men, well acquainted with these northern wilds, and skilful in tracking the tread of man and horse. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- The whole time he heard neither voice nor tread--nothing but the faint music playing a solemn march. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- However, I shall say nothing till I know the ground I'm treading on. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Thirdly, the employment of the fulling-mill for thickening the cloth, instead of treading it in water. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- He knew that Hermione had a curious pleasure in treading down all the social differences, at least apparently, and he left it to her. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Your house is so full of these little plagues, now, that a body can't set down their foot without treading on 'em. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- It isn't the first time, by a good many hundreds, that I find myself treading on delicate ground, answered the other, as immovable as ever. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- I did so, that I might kiss the dear and sacred earth he trod. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- He lighted the candle from the flaring match with great deliberation, and dropped the match, and trod it out. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- I trod heaven in my thoughts, now exulting in my powers, now burning with the idea of their effects. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Caroline, without pausing, trod forward on the trembling plank as if it were a continuation of the firm turf. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Tall and muscular as I was in form, I must have looked like, what indeed I was, the merest ruffian that ever trod the earth. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- She, with meek heart and due reverence, treads close in her Redeemer's steps. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- In some respects, he treads in the footsteps of his sainted mother. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- It lies under that fellow's feet, and he treads upon it and exults above it. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- His old dog, Pilot, lay on one side, removed out of the way, and coiled up as if afraid of being inadvertently trodden upon. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- He slipped off his worn down-trodden shoes, and cast himself heavily, all wet as he was, upon the bed. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- This was no trodden way. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I am not quite trodden down. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Upon that, I turned down the long passage which I had first trodden in my thick boots, and he made his bell sound. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
Checked by Aida