Word.ws English Dictionary

treads the boards

treads the boards is the third-person singular simple present indicative of tread the boards.

Meaning of tread the boards

Verb

tread the boards (third-person singular simple present treads the boards, present participle treading the boards, simple past trod the boards or tread the boards or treaded the boards, past participle trodden the boards or trod the boards or tread the boards or treaded the boards)

  1. (dated, humorous, idiomatic, intransitive) To work as a theatre actor.
    • He seems to think that he's the greatest actor who's ever trod the boards.
  2. (dated, figuratively, humorous, idiomatic, intransitive) To write plays for the theatre.
    • After years of acting, she decided to tread the boards as a playwright instead, penning three successful comedies for the local theater company.

Questions about treads the boards

What is treads the boards the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Treads the boards is the third-person singular simple present indicative of tread the boards.

Words near treads the boards in the dictionary

  1. treads on eggshells
  2. treads on someone's corns
  3. treads on someone's toes
  4. treads out
  5. treads softly
  6. treads the boards
  7. treads the stage
  8. treads upon
  9. treads water
  10. Treadway
  11. Treadways

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: treads the boards (page history and authors); tread the boards (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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