Meaning & use
treading water
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Meanings
phraseuncountable
The act of keeping yourself upright and afloat in water by moving your arms and legs without going forward.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase: after ten minutes of treading water, she swam to shore.
Patterns
- be treading water
- do some treading water
After the boat capsized, they survived by treading water for nearly an hour.
She was treading water near the edge of the pool, waiting for her turn.
The lifeguard taught the children the basics of treading water.
phraseuncountablefigurative
A situation in which you make no real progress but only manage to keep things as they are.
Grammar: Often used after 'be' or 'keep': the business is just treading water.
Patterns
- be treading water
- keep treading water
Without new investment, the company is just treading water.
He felt his career was treading water, so he applied for a transfer.
The peace talks have been treading water for months with no agreement.
Common combinations
- keep treading water
- The team kept treading water in the league, neither winning nor losing much.
- just treading water
- After graduation, she was just treading water until she found a real job.
- treading water financially
- The charity has been treading water financially for years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- marking time
- Also means making no progress, but it often suggests waiting for something to happen rather than actively staying afloat.
- stagnating
- Suggests a lack of growth or activity, often with a negative tone; treading water is more neutral and implies effort to maintain the status quo.
Opposites
Commonly confused: treading water or wading?
treading water vs wading
Wading means walking through water, usually shallow water; treading water means staying afloat in deeper water without moving forward.
Practice
What does 'treading water' mean in the sentence 'The project is just treading water'?
Choose one answer.
Figuratively, 'treading water' means maintaining the current situation without advancing. Option An is the opposite; option B suggests failure, which is not implied; option D is the literal meaning, not the figurative one used here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “treading water”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.