The idiom "tread water" means to stay in the same position in water by moving your legs and arms to keep yourself afloat.
In a figurative sense, it means to maintain a situation or position without making any progress or improvement. For example, if someone is "treading water" in their job, it means they are not advancing or improving in their career.
You can use this idiom in various situations, such as when talking about someone's progress in a project or their personal life. For instance, you might say, "I feel like I'm just treading water in my job. I'm not getting any closer to a promotion."
Overall, the idiom "tread water" is a useful way to describe a situation where someone is not making any progress or improvement.
• After the scandal broke, the politician's career was treading water for a while, but she eventually regained the public's trust and was re-elected.
• I can tread water for a few minutes, but then I need to grab onto the edge of the pool.
• The team had to tread water for the first half of the game, but they really picked up the pace in the second half and won by a landslide.
• When I was younger, my dad taught me how to tread water in case I ever got stuck in deep water.
• With so many responsibilities at work and at home, I feel like I'm just treading water and not making any real progress.
• The company is just treading water financially, and they need to come up with a new strategy to stay afloat.