trodden
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trod·den
(trŏd′n)v.
A past participle of tread.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
trodden
(ˈtrɒdən)vb
a past participle of tread
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
tread
(trɛd)v. trod, trod•den trod, tread•ing, v.i.
1. to set down the foot or feet in walking; step; walk.
2. to step or walk, esp. so as to press, crush, or injure something; trample (usu. fol. by on or upon).
3. (of a male bird) to copulate.
v.t. 4. to step or walk on, about, in, or along.
5. to trample or crush underfoot.
6. to form by the action of walking or trampling: to tread a path.
7. to treat with disdainful harshness or cruelty; crush; oppress.
8. to perform by walking or dancing: to tread a measure.
9. (of a male bird) to copulate with (a female bird).
n. 10. the action of treading.
11. the sound of footsteps.
12. manner of treading or walking.
13. a single step.
14. any of various things or parts on which a person or thing treads, stands, or moves.
15. the horizontal upper surface of a step in a stair.
16. the part of a wheel, tire, or runner that bears on the road, rail, etc.
17. the pattern raised on or cut into the face of a rubber tire.
18. the part of a rail in contact with the treads of wheels.
19. the part of the undersurface of the foot or of a shoe that touches the ground.
Idioms: 1. tread on someone's toes, to offend or irritate someone.
2. tread water,
a. to maintain the body erect in the water with the head above the surface, usu. by a pumping movement of the legs and sometimes the arms.
b. to maintain one's position without making any progress.
[before 900; Middle English treden (v.), Old English tredan, c. Old High German tretan; akin to Old Norse trotha, Gothic trudan]
tread′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.