tread

tread
    n 1: a step in walking or running [syn: {pace}, {stride},
         {tread}]
    2: the grooved surface of a pneumatic tire
    3: the part (as of a wheel or shoe) that makes contact with the
       ground
    4: structural member consisting of the horizontal part of a
       stair or step
    v 1: put down or press the foot, place the foot; "For fools rush
         in where angels fear to tread"; "step on the brake" [syn:
         {step}, {tread}]
    2: tread or stomp heavily or roughly; "The soldiers trampled
       across the fields" [syn: {tread}, {trample}]
    3: crush as if by treading on; "tread grapes to make wine"
    4: brace (an archer's bow) by pressing the foot against the
       center
    5: apply (the tread) to a tire
    6: mate with; "male birds tread the females"
    

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[aum]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.
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            Where'er you tread, the blushing flowers shall rise.
                                                  --Pope.
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            Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. --Pope.
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            The hard stone
            Under our feet, on which we tread and go. --Chaucer.
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   2. To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a
      cautious step.
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            Ye that . . . stately tread, or lowly creep.
                                                  --Milton.
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   3. To copulate; said of birds, esp. the males. --Shak.
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   {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.
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            One woe doth tread upon another's heel. --Shak.
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Tread \Tread\, v. t.
   1. To step or walk on.
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            Forbid to tread the promised land he saw. --Prior.
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            Methought she trod the ground with greater grace.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   2. To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to
      tread land when too light; a well-trodden path.
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   3. To go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, or the
      like. " I am resolved to forsake Malta, tread a pilgrimage
      to fair Jerusalem." --Beau. & Fl.
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            They have measured many a mile,
            To tread a measure with you on this grass. --Shak.
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   4. To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred;
      to subdue.
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            Through thy name will we tread them under that rise
            up against us.                        --Ps. xliv. 5.
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   5. To copulate with; to feather; to cover; -- said of the
      male bird. --Chaucer.
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   {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.
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Tread \Tread\, n.
   1. A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; a footstep;
      as, a nimble tread; a cautious tread.
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            She is coming, my own, my sweet;
            Were it ever so airy a tread,
            My heart would hear her and beat.     --Tennyson.
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   2. Manner or style of stepping; action; gait; as, the horse
      has a good tread.
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   3. Way; track; path. [R.] --Shak.
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   4. The act of copulation in birds.
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   5. (Arch.) The upper horizontal part of a step, on which the
      foot is placed.
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   6. (Fort.) The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand
      to fire over the parapet.
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   7. (Mach.)
      (a) The part of a wheel that bears upon the road or rail.
      (b) The part of a rail upon which car wheels bear.
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   8. (Biol.) The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle.
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   9. (Far.) A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle
      of a horse that interferes. See {Interfere}, 3.
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133 Moby Thesaurus words for "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