bathe

American  

[beyth] / beɪð /

verb (used with object)

bathed, bathing

1. to immerse (all or part of the body) in water or some other liquid, for cleansing, refreshment, etc.

2. to wet; wash.

3. to moisten or suffuse with any liquid.

4. to apply water or other liquid to, with a sponge, cloth, etc..

   to bathe a wound.

5. to wash over or against, as by the action of the sea, a river, etc..

   incoming tides bathing the coral reef.

6. to cover or surround.

   a shaft of sunlight bathing the room; a morning fog bathing the city.

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verb (used without object)

bathed, bathing

1. to take a bath or sunbath.

2. to swim for pleasure.

3. to be covered or surrounded as if with water.

noun

1. British.

   1. the act of bathing, especially in the sea, a lake, or a river.

   2. a swimming bath.

bathe British  

/ beɪð /

verb

1. (intr) to swim or paddle in a body of open water or a river, esp for pleasure

2. (tr) to apply liquid to (skin, a wound, etc) in order to cleanse or soothe

3. to immerse or be immersed in a liquid

   to bathe machine parts in oil

4. to wash in a bath

5. (tr; often passive) to suffuse

   her face was bathed with radiance

6. (tr) (of water, the sea, etc) to lap; wash

   waves bathed the shore

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noun

1. a swim or paddle in a body of open water or a river

Other Word Forms

• bather noun
• rebathe verb

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

Even with the help of her daughter, who regularly helps bathe her brother, Wu only sleeps three to five hours a night.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

"I struggled to shower, my partner would sometimes have to bathe me; I physically could not care for myself."

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026

Water availability is intermittent, leaving Cubans sometimes unable to bathe, wash dishes or flush toilets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

Living off the grid like many in the area, Butler, then 65, was lucky one of her water tanks survived so she could bathe.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

Soon we stop at a scruffy building, to bathe and put on dry clothing.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Related Words

• clean
• dip
• douse
• immerse
• rinse
• scour
• scrub
• soak
• steep
• submerge
• wet