treading water
Maintaining without advancing
Treading water is staying afloat in an upright position by moving the legs and arms, keeping the head above the surface without making forward progress.
Figuratively, it means maintaining a position without advancing or falling behind: The company has been treading water since the recession.
The phrase often implies stagnation or waiting for circumstances to change.
- freestyleWithout prescribed technique
- floatBuoyant object or vehicle
- splashLiquid scattering on impact
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- paddleFlat-bladed water tool
pool · going nowhere · running in place · marking time · holding pattern · plateauing · limbo · going through the motions · resilience · stagnation · perseverance · coping mechanisms · breaststroke · swimming · self-preservation · endurance · buoyancy · struggling
- swimmingswimming, swimmer, swimmers, swim team, swim teams
- pool activitieslap swimming, laps, pool laps, floating, diving board
- sea idiomsall at sea, smooth sailing, sink or swim, miss the boat, rock the boat
- stagnationstagnation, standstill, stasis, deadlock, stalemate
- swim lessonsswim lessons, beginner lessons, swim class, swim instructor, swim coach
- swimming activitiesswim, dive, wade, float, splash
treading waterswimming laps
Repetitive pool exercise
making headway · stroking · diving · sprinting · racing
treading watermaking progress
advancing · moving forward · getting ahead · thriving · flourishing
treading watersinking
Falling through water
drowning · going under · failing · declining · collapsing
water, tread, treading, treadmill, treads, retread, treadle, treaded, retreading