Trample Meaning
/ˈtɹæmpəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo crush something by walking on it.
verbTo treat someone harshly.
Sentence Examples
Don't trample on the grass.
You should not trample on other people's rights.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry crowd began to ____ the flowers in the park garden.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please be careful not to ____ the young flowers while you are walking through the garden this afternoon today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English tramplen, trampelen (“to walk heavily”), equivalent to tramp + -le. Cognate with Saterland Frisian trampelje (“to trample”), Dutch trampelen (“to trample”), German Low German trampeln (“to trample”), German trampeln (“to trample”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Our conquering ſwords ſhal marſhal vs the way
UUe vſe to martch vpon the ſlaughtered foe:
Trampling their bowels with our horſes hoofes: […]"
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
"neither caſt ye your pearles before ſwine: leſt they trample them vnder their feete, […]"
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 7:6:
"Everything a living animal could do to destroy and to desecrate bed and walls had been done. […] A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"to trample on our Maker's laws"
— 1782, William Cowper, “Conversation”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC:
"Newly harvested grapes are poured into a vast vat for everyone to have a good trample upon […]"
— 2015, Lucy Corne, Josephine Quintero, Lonely Planet Canary Islands:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry crowd began to ____ the flowers in the park garden.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please be careful not to ____ the young flowers while you are walking through the garden this afternoon today.