treading water
noun · n
Simple meaning
A stroke that keeps the head above water by thrashing the legs and arms.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
trehdihngwawterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɹɛdɪŋˈwɔtɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A stroke that keeps the head above water by thrashing the legs and arms
n
Treading water or water treading is what a swimmer can do while in a vertical position to keep their head above the surface of the water, while not providing sufficient directional thrust to overcome inertia and propel the swimmer in any specific direction.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A stroke that keeps the head above water by thrashing the legs and arms
Used this way, treading water is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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