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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.
a Hebrew unit of liquid measure, equal to a quantity varying between 10 and 11 U.S. gallons (38 and 42 liters).
a city in Avon, in SW England: mineral springs.
a seaport in SW Maine.
Baath.
a socialist party of some Arab countries, especially Iraq and Syria.
Contemporary Examples

Prior to 1897, baths were taken in freestanding tubs in front of the fire in the bedrooms.
The Real Downton Abbey: Juiciest Bits From ‘The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle’ Tom Sykes December 31, 2011

Rivals as well as the Opposition taunted the PM with the baths during Question Time.
The Sexy Side of Maggie: How Thatcher Used Her Softer Quality Gail Sheehy January 10, 2012

A former security guard for Houston says there used to be a “no baths” rule for the superstar.
Whitney Houston’s Protective ‘Baby Girl,’ Daughter Bobbi Kristina Allison Samuels February 12, 2012

He frequented Turkish baths and commented in his diaries of the physical virtues of sailors.
The Concealed Genius of Alec Guinness Tom Teodorczuk June 11, 2014

Historical Examples

I have just returned from taking the men to have a hot bath in some baths the Engineers have rigged up.
Letters from France Isaac Alexander Mack

Its colonnades and shops are striking, and its baths are in the highest order.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327 Various

I intended visiting the baths of Chilln out of curiosity and invited him to join me, which he did.
Journeys and Experiences in Argentina, Paraguay, and Chile Henry Stephens

I ordered the horses to be saddled, dressed myself, and ran down to the baths.
A Hero of Our Time M. Y. Lermontov

If it be very hot, they will go for a month or two to the baths of Lucca, but their home is Florence.
Yesterdays with Authors James T. Fields

I left the baths as fresh and hearty as if I was off to a ball.
A Hero of Our Time M. Y. Lermontov

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)

pan-Arab socialist party, founded by intellectuals in Syria in 1943, from Arabic ba’t “resurrection, renaissance.”
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”).

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

The use of the bath was very frequent among the Hebrews (Lev. 14:8; Num. 19:19, ect.). The high priest at his inauguration (Lev. 8:6), and on the day of atonement, was required to bathe himself (16:4, 24). The “pools” mentioned in Neh. 3:15, 16, 2 Kings 20:20, Isa. 22:11, John 9:7, were public bathing-places.

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