How to Use tread water in a Sentence

tread water

phrase
  • Those who cannot escape should float or tread water and signal for help.
    — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Turn to face the shore, tread water, and signal for help by calling out or waving your arms.
    — Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2025
  • The witness ran to the scene and saw the plane sinking nose-first with one person treading water.
    — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • These humble creatures can tread water for three days, leap four feet, and squeeze through holes as small as a quarter.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Those who can't escape should float or tread water and signal for help, according to the agency.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Video footage from the outlet showed the man treading water for about 90 minutes while surrounded by lifeguards on rescue boards.
    — Bethany Brown, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026
  • Florida State is treading water after back-to-back losing seasons.
    — Bob Ferrante, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Walking laps in the shallow end, treading water or joining a water aerobics class can all provide an effective workout.
    — Patricia Neligan, AJC.com, 27 July 2026
  • Washington Capitals Washington is trying to tread water, rebuilding on the fly after the old core has moved on.
    — Corey Pronman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The actors had already been treading water for about a minute before filming began, making communication with the crew difficult.
    — Sameen Chaudhry, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The Board can continue to tread water as the two parties hash out contract violations, payouts, and how to implement policy governance.
    — Elaine Gantz Berman, Denver Post, 27 July 2026
  • The fisherman, who has not been publicly identified, had been treading water for about two-and-a-half hours without a life vest before the three man crew of the Seal Junior found him, according to the outlets.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
  • Now in his sixth Angels season, Detmers has strung together a series of wins for an Angels team that is hardly treading water in the American League.
    — Bernie Pleskoff, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • What’s more, Outback Steakhouse treaded water on the sales front, while business at Texas Roadhouse and another competitor, LongHorn Steakhouse, nearly doubled, according to data from Technomic, quoted by Restaurant Business Magazine.
    — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 30 July 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tread water.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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