tread water

present singular third person treads water · participle present treading water · US past regional treaded water · UK common past trod water · US participle past regional treaded water · UK common participle past trod water · UK common participle past trodden water

1. intransitiveTo remain afloat in the water without use of any buoyancy aid, by using kicking motions and hand motions.

   Near-synonym: keep one's head above water

   1 more example

   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

   Synonyms: keep one's head above water

2. figurativelyTo make no progress, expending effort just enough to maintain a stable position.

   Near-synonym: keep one's head above water

   3 more examples

   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

   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

   Synonyms: keep one's head above water