To tread upon

To tread upon
Tread Tread, v. 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?a, Sw. tr[*a]da, tr["a]da, Dan. tr[ae]de, Goth. trudan, and perhaps ultimately to F. tramp; cf. Gr. ? a running, Skr. dram to run. Cf. {Trade}, {Tramp}, {Trot}.] 1. To set the foot; to step. [1913 Webster]

Where'er you tread, the blushing flowers shall rise. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

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

The hard stone Under our feet, on which we tread and go. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

2. To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a cautious step. [1913 Webster]

Ye that . . . stately tread, or lowly creep. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

3. To copulate; said of birds, esp. the males. --Shak. [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. [1913 Webster]

One woe doth tread upon another's heel. --Shak. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • To tread upon the heels of — Tread Tread, v. 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?a, Sw. tr[*a]da, tr[ a]da, Dan. tr[ae]de, Goth.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tread upon — Synonyms and related words: beat down, break, browbeat, bulldoze, bully, castrate, clamp down on, coerce, compel, cow, daunt, despotize, domineer, domineer over, enslave, grind, grind down, henpeck, hit and run, intimidate, inundate, keep down,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • tread upon — 1. Trample, tread under foot, tread on. 2. Follow closely …   New dictionary of synonyms

  • tread upon the heels of — Follow close upon …   New dictionary of synonyms

  • To tread upon one's heels — Heel Heel, n. [OE. hele, heele, AS. h[=e]la, perh. for h[=o]hila, fr. AS. h[=o]h heel (cf. {Hough}); but cf. D. hiel, OFries. heila, h[=e]la, Icel. h[ae]ll, Dan. h[ae]l, Sw. h[ a]l, and L. calx. [root]12. Cf. {Inculcate}.] 1. The hinder part of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tread — Tread, v. 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?a, Sw. tr[*a]da, tr[ a]da, Dan. tr[ae]de, Goth. trudan …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tread — I n. step 1) a firm; heavy; light tread mark 2) tire treads pattern of ridges 3) a worn tread 4) a tire tread II v. 1) (usu. fig.) (d; intr.) to tread on, upon (to tread on smb. s toes) 2) (P; intr.) to tread softly * * * [tred …   Combinatory dictionary

  • Tread — Tread, n. 1. 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. Tennyson. [1913 Webster] 2 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tread — [tred] vt. TROD or (in tread water: see phr. below) treaded, trodden or trod or (in tread water) treaded, treading, trod [ME treden < OE tredan, akin to Ger treten < IE * dreu < base * drā, to run, step > TRAP1] 1. to walk on, in,… …   English World dictionary

  • tread-mill — tread mill, or tread wheel An instrument of prison discipline, being a wheel or cylinder with an horizontal axis, having steps attached to it, up which the prisoners walk, and thus put the axis in motion. The men hold on by a fixed rail, and, as… …   Black's law dictionary

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