tread
verbVerb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they tread | |
| he / she / it treads | |
| past simple trod | |
| past participle trodden | |
| past participle trod | |
| -ing form treading |
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. (especially British English)
to put your foot down while you are stepping or walking 踩；踏；践踏 Extra ExamplesBe careful not to tread on the flowers. 小心不要踩到花。 He came down the stairs, treading as heavily as he could. 他用力踏着脚步从楼梯上走下来。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- heavily
- gently
- lightly
- …
- in
- into
- on
- …
- [transitive] tread something (+ adv./prep.)
to move, push or press something with your feet 踩碎；践踏 Don't tread ash into the carpet! 别把烟灰踩进地毯里！ The wine is still made by treading grapes in the traditional way. 这种葡萄酒仍然是以传统的方法踩碎葡萄酿制的。 She planted the seeds and trod the earth down. 她埋下种子，把土踩实。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- heavily
- gently
- lightly
- …
- in
- into
- on
- …
- [transitive, intransitive] tread (something) (formal or literary)
to walk somewhere 行走；步行；走 Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- heavily
- gently
- lightly
- …
- in
- into
- on
- …
Word OriginOld English tredan (as a verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch treden and German treten.
Idioms
fools rush in (where angels fear to tread)
- (saying)
people with little experience try to do the difficult or dangerous things that more experienced people would not consider doing （智者却步处）愚者独敢闯
tread carefully, warily, etc.
tread a difficult, dangerous, solitary, etc. path
tread on somebody’s heels
to follow somebody closely 紧随某人之后；步人后尘
tread on somebody’s toes (especially British English)
(North American English usually step on somebody’s toes)
- (informal)
to offend or annoy somebody, especially by getting involved in something that is their responsibility 激怒，得罪，冒犯（尤指因插手他人职责） I don’t want to tread on anybody’s toes so I’ll keep quiet. 我不想冒犯任何人，所以我会保持安静。
tread/walk a tightrope
to be in a difficult situation in which you do not have much freedom of action and need to be extremely careful about what you do 身处困境；如履薄冰 The government is walking a difficult tightrope in wanting to reduce interest rates without pushing up inflation. 政府想在不推高通胀的情况下降低利率，这是在走一条艰难的钢丝。
tread water
to keep yourself in the same place in deep water by moving your arms and legs 踩水（摆动四肢使身体在深水中保持直立） to make no progress while you are waiting for something to happen 裹足不前；徘徊观望 I decided to tread water until a better job came along. 在找到更好的工作之前，我决定先试试水。
walk/tread a fine/thin line (between A and B)
to be in a difficult or dangerous situation where you could easily make a mistake 处于困境（或险境）；如履薄冰；走钢丝 He was walking a fine line between being funny and being rude. 他想滑稽而不粗鲁，难以把握分寸。 She often seems to tread a thin line between success and failure. 她似乎经常在成功和失败之间徘徊。
Extra ExamplesHis comedy treads the line between shocking and sickening. 他的喜剧在令人震惊和恶心之间徘徊。 We have to walk a fine line to make sure we don't promote one brand more than another. 我们必须谨慎行事，以确保我们不会推广一个品牌超过另一个品牌。 His buildings walk the thin line between visionary and completely mad. 他的建筑在幻想和完全疯狂之间徘徊。
