bathe
Americanverb (used with object)
-
bathes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bathed,
past participle, past
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bathing
present participle
-
to immerse (all or part of the body) in water or some other liquid, for cleansing, refreshment, etc.
-
to wet; wash.
-
to moisten or suffuse with any liquid.
-
to apply water or other liquid to, with a sponge, cloth, etc..
to bathe a wound.
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to wash over or against, as by the action of the sea, a river, etc..
incoming tides bathing the coral reef.
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to cover or surround.
a shaft of sunlight bathing the room; a morning fog bathing the city.
verb (used without object)
-
bathes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bathed,
past participle, past
-
bathing
present participle
noun
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bathes
plural
verb
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(intr) to swim or paddle in a body of open water or a river, esp for pleasure
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(tr) to apply liquid to (skin, a wound, etc) in order to cleanse or soothe
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to immerse or be immersed in a liquid
to bathe machine parts in oil
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to wash in a bath
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(tr; often passive) to suffuse
her face was bathed with radiance
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(tr) (of water, the sea, etc) to lap; wash
waves bathed the shore
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bathesimple
-
bathessimple
-
have bathedperfect
-
has bathedperfect
-
am bathingprogressive
-
are bathingprogressive
-
is bathingprogressive
-
have been bathingperfect progressive
-
has been bathingperfect progressive
Past
-
bathedsimple
-
had bathedperfect
-
was bathingprogressive
-
were bathingprogressive
-
had been bathingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bathe
before 1000; Middle English bath ( i ) en, Old English bathian, equivalent to bæth bath 1 + -ian infinitive suffix
Explanation
When you bathe, you wash yourself. A cat bathes itself by licking its fur with a rough tongue. If you're human, don't try that technique. The word bathe generally means to clean yourself in a tub of water — as opposed to shower, which means to wash beneath a stream of water. You can, however, use this verb to describe almost any kind of cleansing: you might bathe the scrape on a child's knee with a soapy cloth. Poetically, the sun can also bathe, or saturate, something with light. In Britain, to bathe also means "to swim."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Every morning, she wakes up and climbs up to her damaged apartment to bathe, change clothes and get ready for work.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
As part of the process, Regis has recorded many of the day-to-day tasks they confront, including navigating Medicaid options and helping her wash and bathe.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Many here lack water to bathe and flush toilets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
Olha Kosova’s husband is in the military, and the power cuts made it hard to heave the heavy stroller up to the fourth floor and heat water to bathe her 1-year-old daughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
We splashed around in that cold, clear water like river nymphs, born to swim and bathe till the end of days.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Inspired by traditional Indian cooking and Southeast Asian flavors, this Food52 recipe bathes and simmers sautéed heads of romaine in a delicious mixture of gingery coconut milk, fresh lime juice and fish sauce.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
The rising sun bathes the rolling Herefordshire hillsides in a warm glow as birds gently chirp and sheep graze in the fields.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Gray clouds darken the sky, but Leutze bathes Washington in light, depicting him as an unflinching leader of a squad of men that purposely includes a Native American and a black man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
John Andrews, MD, a resident in neurosurgery, placed the tissue on a nutrient medium that resembles the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2024
In the morning, before she readies herself for work, Maria Isabel bathes her daughter with buckets of water and plaits her hair into two braids.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
A warm bowl of my mother’s homemade soup, complete with a pack of instant noodles bathed in a gingery collagen-rich bone broth and topped with fresh corn, bok choy and a soft-boiled egg, was medicine.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Spain’s lineup features 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, who was photographed as a baby being bathed by Messi in a 2007 Unicef photoshoot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
In the message, recorded before the crash, Javed described a dream: two angels had come for him and, before taking him away, bathed him in a fragrance that smelled of roses.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
The inquiry heard evidence from an Aboriginal community living near a navy base in New South Wales state, who bathed in and gathered food near rivers contaminated by firefighting foam.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
From the ceiling, huge lamps hung down and bathed the room in a brilliant blue-white light.
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
But first, you will need to provide documentation showing that he requires long-term care and needs help bathing, dressing and eating, among other essential tasks.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
However, the testing only takes place during the bathing water season, which runs from 15 May until the end of September, and only at sites that have been already designated as bathing waters.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
She and her family, unable to return to their hotel, were evacuated from an island spot in their bathing suits.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
The findings cannot establish whether repeated sauna bathing produces lasting changes in immune function or long-term health.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
He didn't notice that the man's gray golf pants were wet from the green bathing suit he'd worn underneath.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
