treat

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /tri:t/

• Audio (US)

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Verb

Plain form treat

Third-person singular treats

Past tense treated

Past participle treated

Present participle treating

1. (transitive) If you treat someone in a certain way, you act that way towards them.

   I hate it when my teacher treats me like a child.

   He always treated her badly. No wonder she left him!

2. (transitive) If you treat an illness or injury, you do things to make it better.

   The doctor couldn't treat my finger until he saw the X-ray.

   After the accident 29 people were treated in hospital for minor injuries.

3. (transitive) If you treat something, you put something on it or do something to it protect or clean it.

   The woods was treated with chemicals before being made into paper.

Related words

• treatment

Noun

Singular treat

Plural treats

1. A treat is something nice that you don't get often.

   The occasional trip to a swimming pool is a real treat for most families.

   The children had a special treat of ice cream and cake.