How to Use tread lightly in a Sentence

tread lightly

idiom
  • That has forced Israel to tread lightly in its criticism of the war in Ukraine.
    NBC News, 2 May 2022
  • The lords of baseball tread lightly, fearful of waking ghosts.
    Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 31 Mar. 2021
  • Think of Allmendinger desperate to pick his way through the field from the rear one-third while young newcomers tread lightly at the front.
    Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2020
  • Crabs have claws for a reason, so tread lightly around a scorned Cancer rising.
    Lisa Stardust, Women's Health, 5 Mar. 2023
  • Putin had hoped that the fear of nuclear attack would compel Ukraine to tread lightly and make its supporters back off.
    Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2022
  • And his understanding, back then, of the need to tread lightly on the natural world reads now as a haunting and prescient warning.
    Jordan Salama, Scientific American, 12 Oct. 2021
  • And other enterprise tech companies will have to be aware of the boundaries that emerge from Google’s contest with the government and be prepared to tread lightly.
    Jared Council, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2020
  • When Geddert opened his own gym, Twistars, with his wife in 1996, parents learned quickly to tread lightly around him or jeopardize their daughters’ chances at a college scholarship — or the Olympics.
    New York Times, 26 Feb. 2021
  • Exoplanet claims were met with growing doubt, and astronomers learned to tread lightly before announcing a new find.
    Nola Taylor Redd, Discover Magazine, 21 Apr. 2019
  • But tread lightly since Mars is retrograde in your eighth house of joint ventures and shared property until January 12.
    The Astrotwins, ELLE, 30 Nov. 2022
  • Those with psoriasis should tread lightly with scalp massagers, as they shouldn’t be used on open or broken skin and could cause further irritation.
    Susan Brickell, Health, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Guides ride with some drivers to inspire fearlessness and help teach all the proper tread lightly techniques for Bronco off-road activity.
    Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2024
  • Or, tread lightly with a cleaning solution of water and mild dishwashing liquid soap (a drop or two of dishwashing soap per half-gallon of water).
    Jennifer Kopf, Country Living, 12 Jan. 2023
  • There’s also the need to tread lightly, engaging Mr. Bukele without criticizing him.
    Whitney Eulich, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Mar. 2021
  • As Joshua Tree continues to fall victim to the effects of global warming and pollution, Morris and Maaryn intend for this space to tread lightly in its environment.
    Sam Sussman, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2021
  • However, the big man isn’t a definite home-run upgrade, so Chicago should tread lightly and patiently explore all options.
    Jason Patt, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2021
  • Schools will have to tread lightly to implement responsive curricula that do not provoke backlash.
    Morgan Polikoff, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Those who are concerned about the environment tread lightly before answering or sharing on social media their great love of wanderlust.
    Sophia Li, Vogue, 5 Dec. 2022
  • The Forest Service did not say if and how they will be restored, but encouraged future visitors to not touch the designs and to tread lightly when visiting archaeological sites.
    Leah Asmelash, CNN, 6 Apr. 2021
  • But this is precisely why, diplomatically speaking, Britain’s allies ought to tread lightly.
    Madeleine Kearns, National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
  • Therefore, Democrats may tread lightly on certain policy positions such as wide-scale student loan cancellation that could impact members of Congress in tough re-election races.
    Zack Friedman, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2021
  • Surveyors tread lightly when asking questions, Martin said.
    Stacy Ryburn, Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2023
  • So far, however, Biden administration officials have tread lightly in calling out events in Israel.
    Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2023
  • Some Fox News stars tread lightly into critical territory.
    David Bauder, Fortune, 11 Nov. 2022
  • But, because the perception of impropriety can be so damaging to the political order, the occupants of positions of power have a special obligation to tread lightly when dealing with their ideological opponents.
    The Editors, National Review, 10 Aug. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tread lightly.' 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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