treaded water
Kept head above
Treaded water is the past tense of tread water—to stay afloat in an upright position by moving the legs and arms: She treaded water while waiting for the lifeguard.
Figuratively, to tread water is to make no progress, merely maintaining position: The company treaded water for years before the new CEO arrived.
The standard past tense is trod water, but treaded water is common and acceptable.
- swimmingLocomotion through water
- wetSaturated with liquid
- plateauingCeasing to rise
- poolCollective fund or basin
- deep endPool's lowest-floor area
sink · motionless · buoyancy · stagnation · marking time · floating · coping mechanisms · holding pattern · sculling · endurance · balance · surface · persistence · life jacket · resilience · kick · breaststroke · survival
treaded waterswam
Traveled by stroking
sprinted · sank · drowned · went under · glided
treaded watermade progress
advanced · moved forward · got ahead · thrived · broke through
treaded watertook action
Responded with effort
committed · took the plunge · went all in · cut losses · moved on
tread, treads, treading, trodden, untrodden, retread, retreaded, retreading, retreads