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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

Every day the baby and I take a bath together.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2024

"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

He was getting ready to take a bath when authorities arrived.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 17, 2022

She didn’t, but she had indoor plumbing and her smile was just like her name, Sweet, as she nodded her head to Milkman’s query about whether he could take a bath.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

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.

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