English dictionary — definitions & meanings

tread

verb

To walk or step, especially in a particular manner.

treading

noun

The act of walking or stepping on something.

treadle

noun

A foot-operated pedal or lever that generates motion.

treadmill

noun

An exercise machine with a moving belt for walking or running in place.

treadmilling

noun

The apparent locomotion of certain cellular filaments by adding protein subunits at one end, and removing them at the other.

Treadwell

name

An English surname, originally denoting someone who lived near a well or spring reached by a trodden path.

treadwheel

noun

A large wheel turned by treading, climbing, or pushing with the feet upon its periphery, as for example in a treadmill.

treason

noun

The crime of betraying one's own country, especially by helping its enemies or attempting to overthrow its government.

treasonous

adj

Amounting to or resembling treason; disloyal to one's country.

treasure

noun

A valuable collection of money, jewels, or other precious things.

treasured

adj

Highly valued, especially for personal or sentimental reasons.

treasurer

noun

The person responsible for managing the money and finances of a government, company, or organization.

Treasury

noun

A government department that manages public money — its collection, storage, and spending.

treat

verb

To behave toward someone or something in a particular way.

treatable

adj

Able to be successfully treated, especially medically; not incurable.

treated

adj

Having undergone a specific treatment or process.

treater

noun

One who or that which treats.

treating

noun

The act or process of giving treatment or care.

treatise

noun

A long, formal written work that thoroughly examines a single subject.

treatment

noun

Medical care given for an illness or injury.

treaty

noun

A formal, legally binding agreement between countries or international organizations.

treble

adj

Three times as much; triple.

Treblinka

name

A village in Poland, site of a Nazi extermination camp during World War II.

trebuchet

noun

A medieval siege engine consisting of a large pivoting arm heavily weighted on one end.

treddle

noun

The dung of sheep or hares.

tree

noun

A tall woody plant with a single trunk and branches.

treehouse

noun

A small structure built in or around a tree, often as a play space for children.

treetop

noun

The highest branches or crown of a tree.

trefoil

noun

Any of several plants of the pea family, having compound, trifoliate leaves; especially one of the genus Trifolium.

treillage

noun

latticework for supporting vines, etc.; an espalier; a trellis.

trek

noun

A long, often difficult journey, especially on foot.

trekking

noun

Walking for pleasure or sport over long distances, typically through rugged terrain.

trellis

noun

A frame of latticed wood or metal used to support climbing plants.

Tremaine

name

A masculine given name and surname of Cornish origin, meaning "homestead" or "town of the stone."

Tremayne

name

A variant spelling of Tremaine, a Cornish surname meaning "town of the stone."

Tremblay

name

A French-Canadian surname, one of the most common in Quebec, originally meaning "trembling" or associated with the aspen tree.

tremble

verb

To shake with quick, small movements, often from cold, fear, weakness, or strong emotion.

trembler

noun

One who, or that which, trembles.

trembles

noun

Another name for milk sickness, a poisoning illness in livestock and people caused by eating tremetol-contaminated plants or dairy.

trembling

noun

The act or state of shaking with small, quick movements.

trembly

adj

In a trembling or shaking state

tremendous

adj

Extremely large in size, amount, or degree.

tremendously

adv

To a very great degree; enormously.

tremor

noun

An involuntary shaking movement of the body or a body part.

tremulous

adj

Trembling, quivering, or shaking.

trench

noun

A long, narrow ditch dug into the ground, whether by machines, tools, or natural erosion.

trenchant

adj

Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp.

trenches

noun

The front line of a difficult or demanding activity, especially where the hardest, least glamorous work happens.

trend

noun

A general direction in which something is developing or changing over time.

trending

adj

Currently very popular or attracting a lot of attention, especially on social media.

trendsetting

adj

Taking a leading role in setting trends, particularly in business or the arts

trendy

adj

Fashionable; in keeping with the latest style or trend.

Trent

name

A masculine given name, also a river in central England and a surname derived from it.

Trenton

name

A masculine given name, and the capital city of New Jersey, USA.

trepid

adj

Timid, timorous, fearful.

trepidancy

noun

Trembling caused by fear or nervous agitation.

trepidate

verb

To cause to experience trepidation.

trepidation

noun

A feeling of fear or anxiety about something that is about to happen.

trepidatious

adj

In a state of trepidation; fearful.

trepidatiously

adv

In a trepidatious manner; with trepidation

trepidatory

adj

That trepidates, or that causes trepidations.

trepidly

adv

In a fearful or timid manner.

tres

noun

A three-stringed (or, in some variants, six- or nine-stringed) guitar-like instrument used in Cuban and Puerto Rican music.

trespass

verb

To enter someone's land or property without permission.

trespasser

noun

A person who enters someone else's property without permission.

trespassing

noun

The act of entering someone's land or property without authorization.

tress

noun

A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet.

tresses

noun

a head of hair, particularly when the hair is of length

trestle

noun

A horizontal member supported near each end by a pair of divergent legs, such as sawhorses.

trev

noun

(British/New Zealand slang) An ordinary working-class or rural young man.

treviso

name

A province of Veneto, Italy.

Trevor

name

A masculine given name of Welsh origin, meaning "large settlement" or "big village."

Trey

noun

A playing card, die face, or domino showing the number three.

tri

noun

(informal) Short for triathlon.

triad

noun

A group or set of three closely related people or things.

triadic

adj

Of or relating to a triad.

triage

noun

The process of sorting people or things by urgency or importance to decide what gets attention first.

trial

noun

A formal examination of evidence in court to decide whether someone is guilty of a crime or liable in a dispute.

triangle

noun

A flat shape with three straight sides and three angles.

triangular

adj

Having the shape of a triangle.

triangulate

verb

To find the exact location of something by measuring angles from two or more known points.

triangulation

noun

A method of finding an unknown location or distance using angles measured from known points.

triathlon

noun

An endurance sporting event combining swimming, cycling, and running, completed one after another.

tribal

adj

Relating to, or organized around, a tribe or tribes.

tribe

noun

A social group made up of related families or clans, often sharing language, culture, and territory.

Tribeca

name

A neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, whose name is an abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street."

tribulation

noun

Any adversity; a trying period or event.

tribunal

noun

A panel or court, often with one or more judges, set up to hear and decide legal or formal disputes.

tribune

noun

An elected official in ancient Rome who represented and protected the interests of ordinary citizens.

tributary

noun

A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.

tribute

noun

Something said, done, or given to show respect or admiration for someone.

trice

noun

A very short time; a moment. Almost always used in the phrase "in a trice".

triceps

noun

Any muscle having three heads.

triceratops

noun

A large plant-eating dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, known for its three facial horns and bony neck frill.

trichiliocosm

noun

A concept in cosmology of a "third-order" universe containing one thousand second-order clusters, which are made of one thousand first-order clusters, which are in turn made of a thousand worlds each. Billion-fold universe.

trichord

noun

any set of three different pitch classes

Tricia

name

A feminine given name, a short form of Patricia, meaning "noble" or "patrician."

trick

noun

An action meant to deceive, fool, or outsmart someone.

tricker

noun

One who tricks or plays tricks; a practical joker; a prankster

trickery

noun

The use of deceit or clever schemes to mislead or cheat someone.

tricking

adj

Deceptive; using trickery to fool someone.

trickle

noun

A thin, slow flow of liquid, or the small amount that flows this way.

trickling

noun

A slow, thin flow, or the sound it makes.

trickster

noun

A mythological or folklore figure who uses cunning and mischief to outwit authority or other characters.

tricky

adj

Difficult to handle or figure out because of hidden complications.

tricorder

noun

A fictional handheld scanning device from science fiction, used to analyze the environment or a patient's health.

tricuspid

adj

Having three cusps, e.g. a molar tooth

tricycle

noun

A three-wheeled, pedal-powered vehicle, usually ridden by young children.

trident

noun

A spear with three prongs, similar to a pitchfork.

tried

adj

Tested repeatedly and proven to be reliable.

trier

noun

Someone who keeps making an effort, even without guaranteed success.

Trieste

name

A port city in northeastern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea near the border with Slovenia.

trifecta

noun

A bet where you must correctly pick the first three finishers of a race, in order.

trifle

noun

A British dessert layered with sponge cake, custard, fruit, jelly, and whipped cream.

trifling

adj

Of very little importance or value.

trig

noun

Short for trigonometry.

trigger

noun

The small lever pulled with a finger to fire a gun.

triggered

adj

Set off or activated by a specific condition.

triggering

adj

Causing an event, reaction, or process to start.

triggerman

noun

A hired gunman; a hitman.

trigon

noun

An ancient triangular harp of Oriental origin which had four strings and was often used for banquet music. Also called sabbeka, sackbut, sambuca.

trigonal

adj

Having three angles and three sides, triangular.

trigonometry

noun

The branch of mathematics dealing with the relationships between the angles and sides of triangles.

trike

noun

A tricycle, typically that of a child.

trilby

noun

A soft felt hat with a narrow brim, dented lengthwise along the crown.

trilithium

noun

Three lithium atoms in a molecule.

trill

noun

A rapid alternation between two adjacent musical notes.

trilling

noun

The act of making a trilling sound.

trillion

num

A million million: 1 followed by twelve zeros (10¹²), the standard modern meaning.

trilogy

noun

A set of three related works, such as novels or films, connected by story, characters, or theme.

trim

verb

To cut away excess from something to neaten it.

Trimble

name

An English surname, historically a variant of "trundle" or associated with a diligent, active person.

trimester

noun

A period of about three months, especially one of the three stages of pregnancy.

trimmed

adj

Having had excess cut away; neatened up.

trimmer

noun

A tool used for cutting or neatening something, such as hair or hedges.

trimming

noun

The act of cutting away excess to neaten something.

trimmings

noun

The extra items that traditionally go alongside a meal.

trimonthly

adj

Occurring at intervals three months apart.

Trina

name

A feminine given name, a short form of Katrina or Trinity.

trinary

noun

A trinary star.

trine

adj

Threefold; made up of three parts.

Trini

noun

Informal term for a person from Trinidad.

Trinidad

name

A Caribbean island, part of the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

trinitrotoluene

noun

A highly explosive yellow crystalline substance, (CH₃C₆H₂(NO₂)₃), obtained by reacting nitric acid with toluene.

trinity

noun

A group of three closely connected people or things treated as a single unit.

trinket

noun

A small decorative item, especially cheap jewelry, valued more for looks than worth.

trinkety

adj

Resembling or characteristic of a trinket; gaudy and worthless.

trio

noun

A group of three people or things.

trip

noun

A journey, especially for pleasure or a specific purpose.

tripartite

adj

In three parts.