Jump To:

• 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.

---

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).

---

Bath ³ American  

[bath, bahth] / bæθ, bɑθ /

noun

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

2. a seaport in SW Maine.

---

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

---

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

---

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)

---

bath ⁴ British  

/ bæθ /

noun

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

---

bath More Idioms  

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

---

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

The body of a 31-year-old Lurgan woman was found in a bath by a maintenance man who was investigating a leak in the block of flats she had been living in, an inquest has heard.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

So I’ll invite friends over, and we’ll end the week with a private sound bath.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

"Just stay cool, calm and collected, take a sauna, take a nice bath, analyse the situation and act accordingly."

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

The third floor features four en suite bedrooms, along with a primary bedroom facing the Pacific Ocean, with a spa-worthy bath, fireplace, and an ocean-facing deck.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

Bear in mind that this is advanced mathematics; most of us will never need worry about the volume of old Greek men in the bath.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

“I’m nervous,” said Faith Woodland, a voter who attended a town hall event focused on abortion that Jackson’s campaign held in the seaside town of Bath.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

In a separate randomized trial published in Clinical Biomechanics in April 2026, researchers at the University of Bath investigated different types of biofeedback training in 50 people with knee osteoarthritis.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Sleightholme completed his hat-trick four minutes later and while Bayliss kept Bath in touch to close the gap to 57-48, it did not last as Saints had more in the tank.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Neighborhood Intelligence, the company previously known as Bed, Bath and Beyond, dropped 39%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

He opened his eyes to see the Bishop of Bath and Wells shouting at the Emperor of China.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

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

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

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Rabbi Yehuda Gerami each week leads worshipers at his recently renovated Abrishami Synagogue, which is part of a complex including Jewish schools, a kosher restaurant and traditional baths.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

If we had finished our baths and were ready for bed well before eight, it was story time, but we had to be in bed by eight o'clock.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals

The living room, bathed in natural light, offers vaulted ceilings, a chic bar area, and a fireplace.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

A hubbub filled the room, bathed in pink-red light, mirroring the party's red rose emblem.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

Shimmering silver foil curtains hung from the front windows and the adjacent workout room, equipped with a mirrored wall and barres, was bathed in soft bubble-gum pink light.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 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

Stones sank into the ground and revealed a single pillar bathed in light.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

According to the charity, sewage was discharged into Wales' designated bathing waters for a total of 35,669 hours over the year.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

“It’s so funny because it’s like these people have maybe never seen a woman in a bathing suit with hairy legs,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

“Floor-to-ceiling windows opened to the south and east, bathing the space in natural light,” Jacobs gushed.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

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

Her bathing suit is a blue and green splash of batik.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Related Words

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