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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.

See Examples For:

If there has been rain the night before, the hawk will take a bath in a puddle on the court's roof.

From BBC Jul. 6, 2026

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

Arum, certain that Perenchio would take a bath, bowed out.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 1, 2025

“It’s very difficult when you get up in the morning and you can’t take a bath, you can’t shower,” Mack Williams, 59, said as he picked up bottled water from a county distribution site.

From Seattle Times Jan. 30, 2024

He must be one ’em folk that believe it’s bad luck to take a bath in May, June, July, or August plus any month that’s got the letter r in its spelling.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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