trod

1. pastsimple past of tread

present singular third person trods · participle present trodding · participle past trodded · past trodded

1. To walk heavily or laboriously; plod; tread

   It renders the paths, and the banks of the bayous in that region almost impassable in autumn, until the cattle have trodded it down.

   1833, Timothy Flint, The history and geography of the Mississippi Valley

   5 more examples

   Sir ; to me the noble lord seems to trod close in the foot-steps of his fellow-labourers in the ministerial vineyard, and u crow over us with the same reason

   1813, The Parliamentary history of England from the earliest period to the year 1803

   They bore him to his chamber, where he lay all pale and tearless, like some broken reed, Some helpless shrub, all crushed and trodded down

   1866, Fanny Fisher, Ainsworth's heir

   Yet alas! I see around me the trodding of the same old paths, each trying to excel the other how to ape the good old ministers who were "very much liked by their parishioners."

   1895, Uchimura Kanzo, The Diary of a Japanese Convert

   Land of mystery and enchantment, continent of contrast and extremes, where adventure awaits those who dare to defy convention and choose to trod the unfamiliar path.

   1962 February, American Motorcyclist, page 16

   Happily, he writes the way he walks: at a vigorous lope, both attentive to the varied soils of the ground he trods and curious about the dust and dandelions over the next hill.

   2007 December 23, Matt Weiland, “Walker in the City”, in New York Times

plural trods

1. A track or pathway.

   In many ways this process replicates the stone trods or pannierways which date from the mediaeval period and are a feature of many parts of the North York Moors.

   2019, Alan Staniforth, Cleveland Way, page 81

   Synonyms: trailway