tread

tread

I

tread¹ /tred/ verb (past tense trod /trɒd $ trɑːd/, past participle trodden /ˈtrɒdn $ ˈtrɑːdn/)1.  STEP IN/ON  [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] British English to put your foot on or in something while you are walking
   SYN  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
   SYN  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)

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.