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• bath
  bath

  noun

  a washing or immersion of something, especially the body, in water, steam, etc., as for cleansing or medical treatment.
• Bath
  Bath

  noun

  a city in Avon, in SW England: mineral springs.
• Ba'th
  Ba'th

  noun

  an Arab Socialist party, esp in Iraq and Syria, founded by Michel Aflaq in 1941. It attempts to combine Marxism with pan-Islamic nationalism

bath

¹ American  

[bath, bahth] / bæθ, bɑθ /

noun

• baths
  plural

1. a washing or immersion of something, especially the body, in water, steam, etc., as for cleansing or medical treatment.

   I take a bath every day. Give the dog a bath.

2. a quantity of water or other liquid used for this purpose.

   running a bath.

3. a container for water or other cleansing liquid, as a bathtub.

4. a room equipped for bathing; bathroom.

   The house has two baths.

5. a building containing rooms or apartments with equipment for bathing; bathhouse.

6. Often baths one of the elaborate bathing establishments of the ancients.

   the baths of Caracalla.

7. Usually baths a town or resort visited for medical treatment by bathing or the like; spa.

8. a preparation, as an acid solution, in which something is immersed.

9. the container for such a preparation.

10. a device for controlling the temperature of something by the use of a surrounding medium, as sand, water, oil, etc.

11. Metallurgy.

    1. the depressed hearth of a steelmaking furnace.

    2. the molten metal being made into steel in a steelmaking furnace.

12. the state of being covered by a liquid, as perspiration.

    in a bath of sweat.

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verb (used with or without object)

Chiefly British.

• baths,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bathed,
  past participle,  past
• bathing
  present participle

1. to wash or soak in a bath.

idioms

1. take a bath, to suffer a large financial loss.

   Many investors are taking a bath on their bond investments.

bath ² American  

[bath] / bæθ /

noun

1. a Hebrew unit of liquid measure, equal to a quantity varying between 10 and 11 U.S. gallons (38 and 42 liters).

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Bath ³ American  

[bath, bahth] / bæθ, bɑθ /

noun

1. a city in Avon, in SW England: mineral springs.

2. a seaport in SW Maine.

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bath ¹ British  

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. a large container, esp one made of enamelled iron or plastic, used for washing or medically treating the body

2. the act or an instance of washing in such a container

3. the amount of liquid contained in a bath

4. to turn on the taps to fill a bath with water for bathing oneself

5. (usually plural) a place that provides baths or a swimming pool for public use

6. 1. a vessel in which something is immersed to maintain it at a constant temperature, to process it photographically, electrolytically, etc, or to lubricate it

   2. the liquid used in such a vessel

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verb

1. to wash in a bath

Ba'th ² British  

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. an Arab Socialist party, esp in Iraq and Syria, founded by Michel Aflaq in 1941. It attempts to combine Marxism with pan-Islamic nationalism

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Bath ³ British  

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. Latin name: Aquae Sulis.  a city in SW England, in Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, on the River Avon: famous for its hot springs; a fashionable spa in the 18th century; Roman remains, notably the baths; university (1966). Pop: 90 144 (2001)

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bath ⁴ British  

/ bæθ /

noun

1. an ancient Hebrew unit of liquid measure equal to about 8.3 Imperial gallons or 10 US gallons

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bath More Idioms  

1. see take a bath; throw out the baby with the bath water.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Ba′thism
  noun
• Ba′thist
  noun
• Ba′thi
  adjective
• bathless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• baths
  plural

Participles

• bathing
  present
• bathed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bath
  simple
• baths
  simple
• have bathed
  perfect
• has bathed
  perfect
• am bathing
  progressive
• are bathing
  progressive
• is bathing
  progressive
• have been bathing
  perfect progressive
• has been bathing
  perfect progressive

Past

• bathed
  simple
• had bathed
  perfect
• was bathing
  progressive
• were bathing
  progressive
• had been bathing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bath
  simple
• will have bathed
  perfect
• will be bathing
  progressive
• will have been bathing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bath¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun bath, beth, beath, Old English bæth; cognate with Old Frisian beth, Old Saxon, Old Norse bath, German Bad; from Germanic bátha-n “what is warmed,” from a root meaning “to warm”

Origin of bath²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bath(us), batus, from Latin batus, from Greek bátos, from Hebrew bath

Explanation

The action of soaking or washing yourself in water is a bath. You might take a bubble bath to relax before bed after a stressful day. Your soak in soapy water is a bath, and the tub in which you're lying is also a bath. Other containers of water are baths too, particularly in cooking: "If the custard's sitting in a hot water bath, it will cook more evenly." While the Old English root bæð means "immersing in water," it also means "immersing in mud." If an investor "takes a bath," it means, colloquially, that she loses a lot of money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bath Bath Ba'th baths bathed bathing

Jones points out a hidden closet for suitcases, a Hollywood-level makeup vanity and the hotel’s line of custom citrus-scented bath products from the perfumer Lyn Harris.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

"Our experiments helped us reveal several factors that may have prevented scientists from designing a functional quantum bath using a single source of correlated photons for distributed entanglement," says Fink.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

Ahead of the sound bath, Oso Sound Healing Studio founder Avery Whitmore said the unconventional space would invite a childlike energy, a deeper connection to animals and introspection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

For the uninitiated, a sound bath is where a practitioner plays crystal or Tibetan sound bowls, gongs and chimes in a soothing way.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

But Mom made him take it off at bath time and bedtime.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

He also worked as a 'chairman' in nearby Bath, transporting sick and infirm people through the city's steep streets in wheelchairs and sedan chairs despite his own physical injuries.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

The night before, I had whet my appetite at the Parlor, a four-seat oyster bar in nearby Bath.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

After losing his father at age 12, Curry earned a scholarship to the Kingswood School in Bath.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Bath Cats and Dogs Home, which gives its surplus pet food to food banks, said it had also seen a drop in donations of dog food.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

As she waves her arms in excitement, some of the mail falls out of the pile, and a gigantic Bed Bath and Beyond coupon lands near my foot.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country.

From The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

The 5,791-square-foot layout features five bedrooms and six baths.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

The museum introduced Mindfulness Mornings following the success of its past wellness events — including sound baths that were part of its First Fridays after-hours series.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Luxury spa days, floating sound baths in five-star hotels, retreats costing thousands of pounds; these are all wonderful, if you can afford them.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

According to Zillow, the building is 2,386 square feet, with one and a half baths.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Mom makes Ms. Louise breakfast, lunch, and dinner, gives her baths, and takes her to doctors’ appointments.

From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson

Tracing Saint’s rise and fall over six seasons, the final episode was bathed in tragedy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Rickards and others spoke of Parton's unifying spirit, her devotion to mountainous, working-class East Tennessee, and how the singer-songwriter's presence bathed the region in a sort of country glamor.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Bordeaux was bathed in sunshine on the afternoon of Saturday, 11 June, tens of thousands of Welsh supporters descending on the French city for their opening game against Slovakia.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 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

The night was dark but everything was bathed in moonlight.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

Dickson said the brand had missed the mark in key summer categories such as dresses, shorts and bathing suits and that its marketing failed to drive enough business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Each floor will have two neighborhoods, where staff will prepare meals for residents and assist residents with their daily needs, such as bathing and getting dressed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

With sewage spills and bathing water quality often in the headlines, more people are asking how clean the water is before taking a dip.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

She stopped cleaning herself, and I took to bathing her in the sink.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• bathroom
• lavatory
• restroom
• sauna
• shower
• toilet