to tread down
- phrasal verb
- /trɛd daʊn/
:
aplastar
- He accidentally tread down the delicate flowers while trying to get a better view of the performance.
Examples
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If there were pathways for people to tread down that get them positioned for the work they love to do, then the term "work" may not retain its current meaning.
Blog text (26) -
The gardener had to tread down the soil before planting the seeds to ensure they would grow properly.
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After the parade, the crowd began to tread down the grass, leaving it flattened and damaged.
Synonyms
93
3.0
To step on something with your foot, often pressing down
82
4.4
To step heavily on something and damage it
8
6.3
To walk with heavy noisy steps that make loud sounds
To make soil or grass flat by walking on it hard many times
Antonyms
How Heavy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to crush or flatten by walking on repeatedly' is directly and predictably built from 'tread' (to step on or press down) plus 'down' indicating a downward or completing action; the sense is a literal composition of the constituents. This verb + particle pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The verb tread down comes from the picture of someone stepping on something again and again, with tread meaning 'step' and down showing the action onto the thing until it is crushed and flat. So, it means 'to crush or flatten something by walking on it'.