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Synonyms

take a bath

Idioms  

  1. Experience serious financial loss, as in The company took a bath investing in that new product. This idiom, which originated in gambling, transfers washing oneself in a bathtub to being “cleaned out” financially. [Slang; first half of 1900s]

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.

Ash pointed out that “gold often falls when equities take a bath to cover losing positions on a trading book.”

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

“When I would go take a bath, I would have to call my child to come in and sit next to me in the bath because I’m scared.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2023

"I needed to take a bath every time. My dad would even sprinkle some water over my camera before taking it inside the studio."

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2023

When Kayden asks whether it’s safe to take a bath, she doesn’t know what to say.

From Washington Post • Feb. 17, 2023

When we first came to El Mangle, I wouldn’t drink, and I didn’t take a bath because I thought the water came from the lagoon.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

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.