Wiktionary
treads water
vb. (en-third-person singulartread water)
Usage examples of "treads water".
Shaking, she coughs up some water she has swallowed, and her frozen body treads water without thought, grateful for the respite.
Goto Dengo first makes sure he is nowhere near any burning oil, then treads water, spinning slowly in the water like a radar dish, looking for planes.
Truth is, he's so afraid of the inevitable army of media and scientists and government officials, he's allowed us to be the initial pool while he treads water and tries to figure out how to handle what might be coming.