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bathwater

American

[bath-waw-ter, -wot-er, bahth-] / ˈbæθˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər, ˈbɑθ- /

noun

water for bathing: bath: bathe.

He ran the bathwater while he shaved.

idioms

throw out the baby with the bathwater, to eliminate or reject the good along with the bad.

Etymology

Origin of bathwater

First recorded in 1910–15; bath ¹ + water

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.

Plenty of babies are being thrown out with the bathwater, it would seem.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 14, 2026

With regard to AppFolio, investors have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

From Barron's • Oct. 30, 2025

But now, they seem to be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

From Slate • Jul. 2, 2025

It would be a tragedy to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater given that we are faced with an opportunity to actually make work better — for everyone.

From Salon • Mar. 5, 2025

That night when she heard them out there, she opened up the bathroom window and dumped Jacqueline’s dirty bathwater out into the yard.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023