1
: a washing or soaking (as in water or steam) of all or part of the body
2
b(1)
: a contained liquid for a special purpose
(2)
: a receptacle holding the liquid
c(1)
: a medium for regulating the temperature of something placed in or on it
(2)
: a vessel containing this medium
3
b
: a building containing an apartment or a series of rooms designed for bathing
4
a
: the quality or state of being covered with a liquid
see also take a bath
: an ancient Hebrew liquid measure corresponding to the ephah of dry measure
Synonyms
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English, from Old English bæth; akin to Old High German bad bath, Old High German bāen to warm
Noun (2)
Hebrew
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Noun (2)
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of bath was before the 12th century
Dictionary Entries Near bath
Cite this Entry
“Bath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, //www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bath. Accessed 10 Nov. 2022.
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity. [ bath, bahth ] / bæθ,
bɑθ / This shows grade level based on the word's complexity. noun, plural baths [bathz, bahthz, baths, bahths]. /bæðz, bɑðz, bæθs, bɑθs/. 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. a quantity of water or other liquid used for this purpose:
running a bath. a container for water or other cleansing liquid, as a bathtub. a room equipped for bathing; bathroom: The house has two baths. a building containing rooms or apartments with equipment for bathing; bathhouse.
Often baths . one of the elaborate bathing establishments of the ancients: the baths of Caracalla. Usually baths . a town or resort visited for medical treatment by bathing or the like; spa. a preparation, as an acid solution, in which something is immersed. the
container for such a preparation. a device for controlling the temperature of something by the use of a surrounding medium, as sand, water, oil, etc. Metallurgy.
the state of being covered by a liquid, as perspiration: in a bath of sweat.
verb (used with or without object), bathed, bath·ing.Chiefly British.
to wash or soak in a bath.
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Idioms about bath
take a bath, Informal. to suffer a large financial loss: Many investors are taking a bath on their bond investments.
Origin of bath
1
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”
OTHER WORDS FROM bath
bathless, adjective
Words nearby bath
Bateson, BATF, batfish, batfowl, bat girl, bath, Bath and North East Somerset, Bat Hayil, Bath bun, Bath chair, Bath chap
Other definitions for bath (2 of 3)
noun a Hebrew unit of liquid measure, equal to a quantity varying between 10 and 11 U.S. gallons (38 and 42 liters).
Origin of bath
2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bath(us), batus, from Latin batus, from Greek bátos, from Hebrew bath
Other definitions for bath (3 of 3)
Bath
[ bath, bahth ]
/ bæθ, bɑθ /
noun
a city in Avon, in SW England: mineral springs.
a seaport in SW Maine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
Words related to bath
shower, tub, bathroom, lavatory, restroom, sauna, toilet, ablution, cleansing, dip, douche, dousing, gargle, laving, scrubbing, soak, soaping, sponging, wash, spa
How to use bath in a sentence
Facing muggy race conditions in Qatar of 88 degrees Fahrenheit with 75 percent humidity, the Canadian 50K racewalker spent ten minutes in an ice bath shortly before the race, then donned an ice towel while waiting for the start.
There’s this stigma toward fathers that we shouldn’t be as loving or sing to our children or get them to bed or give them baths.
How hot the bath—and the bathroom—should beThe meta analysis from 2019 zeroed in on 104 to 109 degrees Fahrenheit as a temperature range that improves sleep quality.
No matter what shape your skin is in, sealing in the moisture of a bath is always a good thing.
If you’re wondering how long to stay in the bath for, it’s really up to your personal preference.
Then I see all those couples quarreling in Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
You can not see anything in there, until it magically emerges in the developing bath.
It was now safely back in its cage, although the chancellor sometimes let it play in the bath, he said.
Wikipedia has an entire entry on medicinal clays, though many are of the mud-bath variety.
Just yesterday I claimed a local deli, a small poodle and a Bed, Bath and Beyond.
But some one, perhaps it was Robert, thought of a bath at that mystic hour and under that mystic moon.
Then said Nqong from his bath in the salt-pan, "Come and ask me about it to-morrow, because I'm going to wash."
When partially exhausted the aluminum shutters are dipped into a bath of shellac.
Enjoying the keen physical pleasure of it, he thought what a wholly delightful thing was a hot bath after a day's hard hunting.
With a desperate effort of the will he hurled himself out of the bath and threw open the window.
British Dictionary definitions for bath (1 of 4)
noun plural baths (bɑːðz)
a large container, esp one made of enamelled iron or plastic, used for washing or medically treating the bodyRelated adjective: balneal the act or an instance of washing in such a container the amount of liquid contained in a bath run a bathto turn on the taps to fill a bath with water for bathing oneself (usually plural)a place that provides
baths or a swimming pool for public use
verb
Britishto wash in a bath
Word Origin for bath
Old English bæth; compare Old High German bad, Old Norse bath; related to Swedish basa to clean with warm water, Old High German bāen to warm
British Dictionary definitions for bath (2 of 4)
noun an ancient Hebrew unit of liquid measure equal to about 8.3 Imperial gallons or 10
US gallons
Word Origin for bath
Hebrew
British Dictionary definitions for bath (3 of 4)
noun 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)Latin name: Aquae Sulis (ˈækwiːˈsuːlɪs)
British Dictionary definitions for bath (4 of 4)
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
Derived forms of Ba'th
Bathi, adjectiveBathism, nounBathist, noun
Word Origin for Ba'th
C20: from Arabic: resurgence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with bath
see take a bath; throw out the baby with the bath water.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.