Tread, v. i. [OE. treden, AS. tredan; akin to OFries. treda, OS. tredan, D. & LG. treden, G. treten, OHG. tretan, Icel. troa, Sw. tråda, träda, Dan. træde, Goth. trudan, and perhaps ultimately to F. tramp; cf. Gr. a running, Skr. dram to run. Cf. Trade, Tramp, Trot.].

To set the foot; to step. [1913 Webster]
"Where'er you tread, the blushing flowers shall rise." [1913 Webster]

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." [1913 Webster]

"The hard stone
Under our feet, on which we tread and go." [1913 Webster]
To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a cautious step. [1913 Webster]
"Ye that . . . stately tread, or lowly creep." [1913 Webster]
To copulate; said of birds, esp. the males. Shak. [1913 Webster]
"One woe doth tread upon another's heel." [1913 Webster]

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.

Tread, v. t.

To step or walk on. [1913 Webster]
"Forbid to tread the promised land he saw." [1913 Webster]

"Methought she trod the ground with greater grace." [1913 Webster]
To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to tread land when too light; a well-trodden path. [1913 Webster]
To go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, or the like. Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster]
"They have measured many a mile,
To tread a measure with you on this grass." [1913 Webster]
To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred; to subdue. [1913 Webster]
"Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us." [1913 Webster]
To copulate with; to feather; to cover; -- said of the male bird. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

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, n.

A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; a footstep; as, a nimble tread; a cautious tread. [1913 Webster]
"She is coming, my own, my sweet;
Were it ever so airy a tread,
My heart would hear her and beat." [1913 Webster]
Manner or style of stepping; action; gait; as, the horse has a good tread. [1913 Webster]
Way; track; path. Shak. [1913 Webster]
The act of copulation in birds. [1913 Webster]
The upper horizontal part of a step, on which the foot is placed. [1913 Webster]
The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand to fire over the parapet. [1913 Webster]
The part of a wheel that bears upon the road or rail. [1913 Webster]
The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle. [1913 Webster]
A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle of a horse that interferes. See Interfere, 3. [1913 Webster]

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

Tread, v. & n.
--v. (trod; trodden or trod)
1 intr. (often foll. by on) a set down one's foot; walk or step (do not tread on the grass; trod on a snail). b (of the foot) be set down.
2 tr. a walk on. b (often foll. by down) press or crush with the feet.
3 tr. perform (steps etc.) by walking (trod a few paces).
4 tr. make (a hole etc.) by treading.
5 intr. (foll. by on) suppress; subdue mercilessly.
6 tr. make a track with (dirt etc.) from the feet.
7 tr. (often foll. by in, into) press down into the ground with the feet (trod dirt into the carpet).
8 tr. (also absol.) (of a male bird) copulate with (a hen).
--n.
1 a manner or sound of walking (recognized the heavy tread).
2 (in full tread-board) the top surface of a step or stair.
3 the thick moulded part of a vehicle tyre for gripping the road.
4 a the part of a wheel that touches the ground or rail. b the part of a rail that the wheels touch.
5 the part of the sole of a shoe that rests on the ground.
6 (of a male bird) copulation.

Idiom

tread the boards (or stage) be an actor; appear on the stage. tread on air see AIR. tread on a person's toes offend a person or encroach on a person's privileges etc. tread out
1 stamp out (a fire etc.).
2 press out (wine or grain) with the feet. tread water maintain an upright position in the water by moving the feet with a walking movement and the hands with a downward circular motion. tread-wheel a treadmill or similar appliance.

Derivative

treader n.

Etymology

OE tredan f. WG

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THESAURUS

Tread

amble, ambulate, amount, ankle, caliber, career, circumambulate, clip, clop, clump, compass, cut, degree, doorstep, drag, droop, drub, extent, flounce, foot, foot it, footfall, footrest, footstep, gait, gallop, grade, height, hippety-hop, hitch, hobble, hoof, hoof it, hoofbeat, hop, interval, jaywalk, jog, jog on, jump, leap, leg, leg it, level, lick, limp, lock step, lurch, march, mark, measure, mince, mincing steps, notch, nuance, pace, pad, paddle, pas, pedestrianize, peg, perambulate, period, peripateticate, piaffer, pitch, plane, plateau, point, prance, progress, proportion, rack, range, rate, ratio, reach, remove, rest, riser, roll, round, rundle, rung, saunter, scale, scope, scuttle, shade, shadow, shamble, shuffle, shuffle along, sidle, single-foot, skip, slink, slither, slouch, slowness, space, spoke, stagger, stair, stalk, stamp, standard, stave, step, step stool, stepping-stone, stint, stomp, stride, string, stroll, strolling gait, strut, stump it, swagger, swing, toddle, totter, trace, track, traipse, trample, travel, troop, trot, velocity, waddle, walk

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ROGET THESAURUS

Tread

Motion

N motion, movement, move, going, unrest, stream, flow, flux, run, course, stir, evolution, kinematics, telekinesis, step, rate, pace, tread, stride, gait, port, footfall, cadence, carriage, velocity, angular velocity, clip, progress, locomotion, journey, voyage, transit, restlessness, mobility, movableness, motive power, laws of motion, mobilization, moving, in motion, transitional, motory, motive, shifting, movable, mobile, mercurial, unquiet, restless, nomadic, erratic, under way, on the move, on the wing, on the tramp, on the march, eppur si muove, es bildet ein Talent sich in der Stille, sich ein Charakter in dem Strom der Welt.

Journey

VB travel, journey, course, take a journey, go a journey, take a walk, go out for walk, have a run, take the air, flit, take wing, migrate, emigrate, trek, rove, prowl, roam, range, patrol, pace up and down, traverse, scour the country, traverse the country, peragrate, circumambulate, perambulate, nomadize, wander, ramble, stroll, saunter, hover, go one's rounds, straggle, gad, gad about, expatiate, walk, march, step, tread, pace, plod, wend, go by shank's mare, promenade, trudge, tramp, stalk, stride, straddle, strut, foot it, hoof it, stump, bundle, bowl along, toddle, paddle, tread a path, take horse, ride, drive, trot, amble, canter, prance, fisk, frisk, caracoler, caracole, gallop, embark, board, set out, hit the road, get going, get underway, peg on, jog on, wag on, shuffle on, stir one's stumps, bend one's steps, bend one's course, make one's way, find one's way, wend one's way, pick one's way, pick one's way, thread one's way, plow one's way, slide, glide, coast, skim, skate, march in procession, file on, defile, go to, repair to, resort to, hie to, betake oneself to.

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