| 释义 |
tread
I. \ˈtred\ verb
(trod \ˈträd\ ; also treaded ; trodden \ˈträdən\ ; or trod also tread ; treading ; treads)
Etymology: Middle English treden, from Old English tredan; akin to Old High German tretan to step, tread, Old Norse trotha, Gothic trudan to tread, and perhaps to Greek dramein to run, Old English treppan to step — more at trap
transitive verb
1.
a. : to step or walk on : move about over especially by walking
< went on to tread the great smooth dome of the … summit — G.W.Murray >
< the south pole, never before trodden by the foot of human beings — A.L.Kroeber >
b. : to step or walk along : follow, pursue
< the avenue … she had trodden — Kathleen Freeman >
< the safest road to tread — H.J.Laski >
< has trod the thin line between abstraction and strict realism — R.M.Coates >
2.
a.
(1) : to step firmly or walk with pressure on (as a person) in an effort to crush, beat down, injure or destroy — usually used in phrases
< tread to dirt the rest of mankind — John Milton >
< being trod to death like a frog — Jonathan Swift >
< they wee trodden under foot >
(2) : to thresh (as grain) usually by trampling on a threshing floor — sometimes used with out
(3) : to press out the juice of (grapes) by trampling usually in a vat
(4) : to wash (as clothes) by trampling usually in a washtub
b. : to subdue or repress as if by trampling : conquer by crushing or oppressing : treat with contemptuous cruelty — usually used with an adv.
< the masses were a good deal trodden down — F.E.Gretton >
3. : to copulate with (a hen) : cover — used of a male bird
4. : to form or make by the action of the feet in walking : beat
< countless footsteps have trodden a path to his door >
— sometimes used with out
< herds … trod out great lanes of habitual migration — C.D.Forde >
5. : to press down by walking or stamping upon
< tread soil >
6. : to execute by stepping or dancing
< tread a measure >
7. : to get, bring, or put into or out of some condition by walking or trampling — used with an adv.
< tread a grass fire out >
< slippers trodden down at the heel >
8. : to step upon (as a treadle or pedal) in order to impart motion : press downward with the foot or feet (as in treadling or pedaling)
< this wheel … was trodden by a donkey — John Higgs >
9. : to brace (an archer's bow) by pressing the foot against the center
10. : to apply the tread to (an automotive tire)
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move on foot : set down the feet in walking : pace, step, walk
< they trod cautiously, drawing closer and closer — O.E.Rölvaag >
< where … the foot of a white man had rarely trod — Leslie Gardiner >
b. : to proceed as if by walking
< in 18th century English history the author treads with his accustomed ease and mastery — Times Literary Supplement >
2. : to step or set foot on something
< fools rush in where angels fear to tread — Alexander Pope >
as
a. : to set foot so as to press, crush, or injure : trample — used with on or upon
< tread upon the grapes >
b. : to put one's foot down upon something especially in an accidental or unintentional manner
c. : to press firmly on something with a foot
< resolutely trod on the accelerator — James Lord >
3. : copulate — usually used of a male bird
4. chiefly dialect : to yield to treading or being trodden upon : become affected by tramping or trampling — used especially of soil
•
- tread on one's toes
- tread the boards
- tread the steps of
- tread water
II. noun
(-s)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English trede, tred, from treden, v.
1. : a mark (as a footprint, a rut of a wheel, or the imprint of a tire) made by or as if by treading
2.
a.
(1) : the action of treading
< that incessant tread of feet wearing the rough stones smooth — Charles Dickens >
(2) : an act or an instance of treading : step
b. : manner of stepping : style of walking
< walked with a springy, catlike tread — Tom Marvel >
< the careful tread of one conscious of his alcoholic load — Thomas Hardy >
c. : the sound of treading
< I hear the tread of hateful steps — John Milton >
< the corner echoed … with the tread of feet — Charles Dickens >
3. Scotland
a. : habitual course or manner of action : custom, practice
b. : customary occupation : regular business : employment, labor, trade
4.
a. archaic : the action of a male bird in copulation
b. : chalaza 1
5. : an injury of one foot by another foot of a horse (as in overreaching)
6.
a.
(1) : the part of the bottom surface of a shoe including or excluding the heel that touches level ground
(2) : the part of a wheel that bears on a road or rail; especially : the thickened face of an automobile tire
(3) : caterpillar tread
b. : the design (as a raised or inset pattern of corrugations) on a tread
< a recognizable hobnail tread — Frank Cameron >
7. : the distance in inches between the central points of contact with the ground of the two front wheels or the two rear wheels of a vehicle — compare wheelbase
8.
a. : the upper horizontal part of a step (as in a stair) on which the foot is placed
b. : the width of such a part of a step : the horizontal distance between consecutive risers
< a stair with a 12-inch tread >
c. : the flat or gently sloping surface of one of a series of steplike geologic landforms
< the tread of a terrace >
9. : the length of the keel of a ship
10. : the part of a rail on which the wheels of a railroad car bear |