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. Manner or style of stepping; action; gait; as, the horse has a good tread. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Way; track; path. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The act of copulation in birds. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Arch.) The upper horizontal part of a step, on which the foot is placed. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Fort.) The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand to fire over the parapet. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Biol.) The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Far.) A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle of a horse that interferes. See Interfere, 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To step or walk on. [ 1913 Webster ]

Forbid to tread the promised land he saw. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

Methought she trod the ground with greater grace. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to tread land when too light; a well-trodden path. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

They have measured many a mile,
To tread a measure with you on this grass. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred; to subdue. [ 1913 Webster ]

Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. Ps. xliv. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To copulate with; to feather; to cover; -- said of the male bird. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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&unr_;a, Sw. tråda, träda, Dan. træde, Goth. trudan, and perhaps ultimately to F. tramp; cf. Gr. &unr_; 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 ]

n. [ Arch. ] See Tread, n., 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who treads. Isa. xvi. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cock. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. tredyl a step, AS. tredel. See Tread. ] 1. The part of a foot lathe, or other machine, which is pressed or moved by the foot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) The chalaza of a bird's egg; the tread. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A mill worked by persons treading upon steps on the periphery of a wide wheel having a horizontal axis. It is used principally as a means of prison discipline. Also, a mill worked by horses, dogs, etc., treading an endless belt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) Spurge nettle. See under Nettle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A wheel turned by persons or animals, by treading, climbing, or pushing with the feet, upon its periphery or face. See Treadmill. [ 1913 Webster ]