Dictionary

tread water en · VERB

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To remain afloat in the water without use of any buoyancy aid, by using kicking motions and hand motions.
   • We gained the interior of the submarine cave without difficulty, and on emerging from the waves, supported ourselves for some time by treading water, while we held the two bundles above our heads. 1857, R. M. Ballantyne, “chapter 13”, in The Coral Island:
   • Near-synonym: keep one's head above water
2. (figuratively) To make no progress, expending effort just enough to maintain a stable position.
   • In the first scenario, the fund gets $13 billion, the minimum investment needed for the organisation to tread water. 2010, The Economist, Aid and austerity:
   • Near-synonym: keep one's head above water
   • Jem looked at me furiously, could not decline, ran down the sidewalk, treaded water at the gate, then dashed in and retrieved the tire. “See there?” Jem was scowling triumphantly. “Nothin‘ to it. I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it’s mortifyin’.” 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
   • The popular view is that, although technology and GDP advance, morals and society are treading water or, depending on your choice of newspaper, sinking back into decadence and barbarism. 2009, The Economist, The idea of progress: Onwards and upwards:

Forms

Synonyms

keep one's head above water · keep one's head above water

Translations (24)

nl ter plaatse trappelen (to make no progress) · ru топта́ться на ме́сте (to make no progress) · pl stać w miejscu (to make no progress) · es salir a flote (to make no progress) · fi pärskiä (to remain afloat in water without use of any buoyancy aid) · sv trampa vatten (to remain afloat in water without use of any buoyancy aid) · it stare a galla (to remain afloat in water without use of any buoyancy aid) · fr faire du sur place (to remain afloat in water without use of any buoyancy aid) · el δεν προκόβω (to make no progress) · de sich im Kreis drehen (to make no progress) · de auf der Stelle treten (to make no progress) · cmn 原地踏步 (to make no progress) · cmn 维持现状 (to make no progress) · es mantenerse a flote (to make no progress) · tr yerinde saymak (to make no progress) · fr piétiner (to make no progress) · fi huitoa vettä (to remain afloat in water without use of any buoyancy aid) · fi pysytellä pinnalla (to remain afloat in water without use of any buoyancy aid) · uk топта́тись на мі́сці (to make no progress) · es tratar de no hundirse (to make no progress) · de Wasser treten (to remain afloat in water without use of any buoyancy aid) · fr faire du sur place (to make no progress) · it annaspare (to make no progress) · fi polkea paikallaan (to make no progress)