bath

¹

[ bath, bahth ]

noun

, plural baths [ba, th, z, bah, th, z, baths, bahths].

1. 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.

2. a quantity of water or other liquid used for this purpose:

   running a bath.

3. a container for water or other cleansing liquid, as a bathtub.
4. a room equipped for bathing; bathroom:

   The house has two baths.

5. a building containing rooms or apartments with equipment for bathing; bathhouse.
6. Often baths. one of the elaborate bathing establishments of the ancients:

   the baths of Caracalla.

7. Usually baths. a town or resort visited for medical treatment by bathing or the like; spa.
8. a preparation, as an acid solution, in which something is immersed.
9. the container for such a preparation.
10. a device for controlling the temperature of something by the use of a surrounding medium, as sand, water, oil, etc.
11. Metallurgy.
    1. the depressed hearth of a steelmaking furnace.
    2. the molten metal being made into steel in a steelmaking furnace.
12. the state of being covered by a liquid, as perspiration:

    in a bath of sweat.

verb (used with or without object)

, Chiefly British.

, bathed, bath·ing.

1. to wash or soak in a bath.

bath

²

[ bath ]

noun

1. a Hebrew unit of liquid measure, equal to a quantity varying between 10 and 11 U.S. gallons (38 and 42 liters).

Bath

³

[ bath, bahth ]

noun

1. a city in Avon, in SW England: mineral springs.
2. a seaport in SW Maine.

bath

¹

/ bæθ /

noun

1. an ancient Hebrew unit of liquid measure equal to about 8.3 Imperial gallons or 10 US gallons

bath

²

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. a large container, esp one made of enamelled iron or plastic, used for washing or medically treating the body balneal
2. the act or an instance of washing in such a container
3. the amount of liquid contained in a bath
4. run a bath
   to turn on the taps to fill a bath with water for bathing oneself
5. usually plural a place that provides baths or a swimming pool for public use
6. 1. a vessel in which something is immersed to maintain it at a constant temperature, to process it photographically, electrolytically, etc, or to lubricate it
   2. the liquid used in such a vessel

verb

1. to wash in a bath

Ba'th

³

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. an Arab Socialist party, esp in Iraq and Syria, founded by Michel Aflaq in 1941. It attempts to combine Marxism with pan-Islamic nationalism

Bath

⁴

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. 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 nameAquae Sulisˈækwiːˈsuːlɪs

Derived Forms

• ˈBa′thism, noun
• ˈBa′thi, adjective
• ˈBa′thist, noun

Other Words From

• bathless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bath¹

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”

Origin of bath²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bath(us), batus, from Latin batus, from Greek bátos, from Hebrew bath

Word History and Origins

Origin of bath¹

Hebrew

Origin of bath²

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

Origin of bath³

C20: from Arabic: resurgence

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take a bath, Informal. to suffer a large financial loss:

   Many investors are taking a bath on their bond investments.

More idioms and phrases containing bath

see take a bath ; throw out the baby with the bath water .

Example Sentences

The fact that the Bath native is among those competing in the tournament that marks the climax of the European tour’s Race to Dubai is noteworthy in its own right.

From BBC

Despite fees going up, Sam says he thinks his business degree at Bath Spa University has been "incredible" value for money so far, when he considers all the extras available to students.

From BBC

England hope Ollie Lawrence's switch to outside centre against Australia will enable the Bath star to bring his ball-carrying power to the fore on Saturday.

From BBC

Other than Mitchell, only Bath's Ben Spencer has started a game at scrum-half this year for England - a disappointing Six Nations defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield.

From BBC

This comes as the University of Bath published research that found shared parental leave has not affected the number of fathers taking leave, nor the length of leave they choose to take.

From BBC

Related Words

• bathroom
• lavatory
• restroom
• sauna
• shower
• toilet