TREAD, verb intransitive tred. preterit tense trod; participle passive trod, troden. [Latin trudo.]

1. To set the foot.

Where'er you tread the blushing flow'rs shall rise.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread

2. To walk or go.

Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours. Deuteronomy 11:24.

3. To walk with form or state.

Ye that stately tread or lowly creep.

4. To copulate, as fowls.

To tread or tread on, to trample; to set the foot on in contempt.

Thou shalt tread upon their high places. Det.33.

TREAD, verb transitive tred. To step or walk on.

Forbid to tread the promis'd land he saw.

1. To press under the feet.

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

3. To walk in a formal or stately manner.

He thought she trod the ground with greater grace.

4. To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred, or to subdue. Psalms 44:5.

5. To compress, as a fowl.

To tread the state, to act as a stage-player; to perform a part in a drama.

To tread or tread out, to press out with the feet; to press out wine or wheat; as, to tread out grain with cattle or horses.

They tread their wine presses and suffer thirst. Job 24:11.

TREAD, noun tred. A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; as a nimble tread; cautious tread; doubtful tread

1. Way; track; path. [Little used.]

2. Compression of the male fowl.

3. Manner of stepping; as, a horse has a good tread