Dic: tread water

PHRASE : V inflects | If someone who is in deep water treads water, they float in an upright position by moving their legs slightly.

PHRASE : V inflects | If you say that someone is treading water, you mean that they are in an unsatisfactory situation where they are not progressing, but are just continuing doing the same things.

• I could either tread water until I was promoted, which looked to be a few years away, or I could change what I was doing.

... cobuild