Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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["a]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.

            Where'er you tread, the blushing flowers shall rise.
                                                  --Pope.

            Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. --Pope.

            The hard stone Under our feet, on which we tread and
            go.                                   --Chaucer.

   2. To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a
      cautious step.

            Ye that . . . stately tread, or lowly creep.
                                                  --Milton.

   3. To copulate; said of birds, esp. the males. --Shak.

   {To tread on} or {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.

            One woe doth tread upon another's heel. --Shak.

Tread \Tread\, v. t.
   1. To step or walk on.

            Forbid to tread the promised land he saw. --Prior.

            Methought she trod the ground with greater grace.
                                                  --Dryden.

   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 go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, or the
      like. `` I am resolved to forsake Malta, tread a
      pilgrimage to fair Jerusalem.'' --Beau. & Fl.

            They have measured many a mile, To tread a measure
            with you on this grass.               --Shak.

   4. To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred;
      to subdue.

            Through thy name will we tread them under that rise
            up against us.                        --Ps. xliv. 5.

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

   {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.

Tread \Tread\, n.
   1. A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; a footstep;
      as, a nimble tread; a cautious tread.

            She is coming, my own, my sweet; Were it ever so
            airy a tread, My heart would hear her and beat.
                                                  --Tennyson.

   2. Manner or style of stepping; action; gait; as, the horse
      has a good tread.

   3. Way; track; path. [R.] --Shak.

   4. The act of copulation in birds.

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

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

   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.

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

   9. (Far.) A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle
      of a horse that interferes. See {Interfere}, 3.

Source : WordNet®

tread
     n 1: a step in walking or running [syn: {pace}, {stride}]
     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
     [also: {trodden}, {trod}]

tread
     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}]
     2: tread or stomp heavily or roughly; "The soldiers trampled
        across the fields" [syn: {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"
     [also: {trodden}, {trod}]