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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 depressed hearth of a steelmaking furnace.
the molten metal being made into steel in a steelmaking furnace.

the state of being covered by a liquid, as perspiration:
in a bath of sweat.
to wash or soak in a bath.
take a bath, Informal. to suffer a large financial loss:
Many investors are taking a bath on their bond investments.
to immerse (all or part of the body) in water or some other liquid, for cleansing, refreshment, etc.
to wet; wash.
to moisten or suffuse with any liquid.
to apply water or other liquid to, with a sponge, cloth, etc.:
to bathe a wound.
to wash over or against, as by the action of the sea, a river, etc.:
incoming tides bathing the coral reef.
to cover or surround:
a shaft of sunlight bathing the room; a morning fog bathing the city.
to take a bath or sunbath.
to swim for pleasure.
to be covered or surrounded as if with water.
British.

the act of bathing, especially in the sea, a lake, or a river.
a swimming bath.

Contemporary Examples

But Still Walking is bathed in lovely summer light, and it floats on air.
The Oscar International Film Festival: ‘Stranger By the Lake’ and Foreign Films You Should Watch Jimmy So February 1, 2014

His struggle to maintain his composure is what bathed the event in both drama and pathos.
An Excruciating Confession from Anthony Weiner Howard Kurtz June 5, 2011

I was a student of masculinity from a very young age, (perhaps even as I bathed in a hormone cocktail in the womb).
Five Books that Taught Me Something About Being a Man T Cooper January 27, 2014

bathed in celestial light, and with her husband, Jor-El (Russell Crowe), looking on, she gives birth to their son, Kal-El.
‘Man of Steel,’ New Superman Movie Starring Henry Cavill, Falls Flat Marlow Stern June 10, 2013

Calm as ever, bathed in the glow of television cameras, he spoke to the cops, then to the crowd.
Canoodling at Wall Street Casey Schwartz October 18, 2011

Historical Examples

One of Maximina’s young mates went to her, bathed in tears, and kissed her.
Maximina Armando Palacio Valds

Angelique smiled, as she stood there, dazzled, and as if bathed in the springtide.
The Dream Emile Zola

Turning into another street I bathed my hands and face in snow, and removed all traces of the bloody conflict.
The Betrayal of John Fordham B.L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon

The old sores which are bathed have nothing to fear, and offer no risk of contagion.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete Emile Zola

As she spoke Mrs. Harold took a bit of absorbent cotton, soaked it in rose water and bathed the lovely soft, brown eyes.
Peggy Stewart at School Gabrielle E. Jackson

noun (pl) baths (bɑːðz)
a large container, esp one made of enamelled iron or plastic, used for washing or medically treating the body related adjective balneal
the act or an instance of washing in such a container
the amount of liquid contained in a bath
run a bath, to turn on the taps to fill a bath with water for bathing oneself
(usually pl) a place that provides baths or a swimming pool for public use

a vessel in which something is immersed to maintain it at a constant temperature, to process it photographically, electrolytically, etc, or to lubricate it
the liquid used in such a vessel

verb
(Brit) to wash in a bath
noun
an ancient Hebrew unit of liquid measure equal to about 8.3 Imperial gallons or 10 US gallons
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)
verb
(intransitive) to swim or paddle in a body of open water or a river, esp for pleasure
(transitive) to apply liquid to (skin, a wound, etc) in order to cleanse or soothe
to immerse or be immersed in a liquid: to bathe machine parts in oil
(mainly US & Canadian) to wash in a bath
(transitive; often passive) to suffuse: her face was bathed with radiance
(transitive) (of water, the sea, etc) to lap; wash: waves bathed the shore
noun
(Brit) a swim or paddle in a body of open water or a river
n.

Old English bæð “immersing in water, mud, etc.,” also “quantity of water, etc., for bathing,” from Proto-Germanic *batham (cf. Old Norse bað, Middle Dutch bat, German bad), from PIE root *bhe- “to warm” (cf. Latin fovere “to foment”) + Germanic *-thuz suffix indicating “act, process, condition” (cf. birth, death). Original sense was of heating, not immersing in water. The city in Somerset, England (Old English Baðun) was so called from its hot springs. Bath salts attested from 1875 (Dr. Julius Braun, “On the Curative Effects of Baths and Waters”).
v.

Old English baþian “to wash, lave, bathe” (transitive and intransitive), from root of bath (q.v.), with different vowel sound due to i-mutation. Related: Bathed; bathing.

bath (bāth)
n. pl. baths (bāðz, bāths)

The act of soaking or cleansing the body or any of its parts, as in water.

The apparatus used in giving a bath.

The fluid used to maintain the metabolic activities of an organism.

Related Terms

take a bath

a Hebrew liquid measure, the tenth part of an homer (1 Kings 7:26, 38; Ezek. 45:10, 14). It contained 8 gallons 3 quarts of our measure. “Ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath” (Isa. 5:10) denotes great unproductiveness.

see:

take a bath
throw out the baby with the bath water