trample

verb

tram·​ple ˈtram-pəl 

trampled; trampling ˈtram-p(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: tramp

especially : to tread heavily so as to bruise, crush, or injure

2

: to inflict injury or destruction especially contemptuously or ruthlessly

—usually used with on, over, or upon

trampling on the rights of others

transitive verb

: to crush, injure, or destroy by or as if by treading

trampled the flowers

trample noun

trampler

ˈtram-p(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms

• champ
• stamp
• stomp
• tramp
• tromp

Example Sentences

The workmen trampled on my flower bed.

Her glasses were trampled underfoot by the crowd.

Many people were trampled to death trying to escape the burning building.

They are trampling on our rights.

They are trampling our rights.

Their most cherished traditions have been trampled.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

In Indonesia, many local governments already impose customary laws that trample on human rights, Bivitris, the law lecturer, says. —Time, 6 Dec. 2022

Wild horses devour the plants and trample the streams that serve as crucial habitat for native species. —Maggie Shannon Jill Cowan, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022

The fines exist because fans can trample each other and be killed. —Joseph Goodman | [e-mail], al, 20 Oct. 2022

People leave trash and human waste, create secondary footpaths and trample the area around the tree. —Nicole Kagan, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2022

Pratt is frequently ranked last among the Hollywood Chrises, leading his co-stars to practically trample over one another to defend him. —Brendan Morrow, The Week, 28 June 2022

Cicilline was responding to an amendment offered by Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who said that red-flag gun laws would trample on due-process and Second Amendment rights. —Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2022

In the final episode, another hole, arising from Luke’s obsessive digging, welcomes a horde of buffalo which appear to trample him on their way out and across the plains. —Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 5 May 2022

Step by step, the Edmontosaurus catches up with the rest of the herd and wiggles his way back into the crush of dinosaurian bodies as the duckbills trample their way through the woodland. —Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Apr. 2022

See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, frequentative of trampen to tramp

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

trample

verb

tram·​ple ˈtram-pəl 

trampled; trampling -p(ə-)liŋ 

1

a

: to tramp or tread heavily so as to bruise, crush, or injure

cattle trampled on the young wheat

b

: to crush, injure, or destroy by or as if by treading

trampled the flowers

2

: to injure or harm by ruthless or heartless treatment

trampling on the right of others

trampler

-p(ə-)lər 

noun