Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To wash or clean oneself or someone else by immersing the body in water.
   • To apply water or another liquid to a part of the body for cleansing or medicinal purposes.
   • To suffuse or cover thoroughly with light, liquid, or a particular quality.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To take a bath; to wash oneself in a bath.
   • To go swimming, especially for pleasure.

3. Noun:

   • An act or instance of swimming or spending time in the water, especially in the sea, a river, or a lake.

Usage

• As a transitive verb, "bathe" typically takes a direct object (e.g., bathe the baby, bathe a wound).
• As an intransitive verb, it does not take a direct object (e.g., I bathe every morning).
• The noun form is less common and often used in British English to refer to a swim.

Examples

• Verb (transitive):

  • She bathed the child in warm water.
  • The nurse will bathe the patient's injured leg.
  • The valley was bathed in moonlight.

• Verb (intransitive):

  • He likes to bathe in the sea before breakfast.
  • You should bathe and change your clothes.

• Noun:

  • We went for a bathe in the lake.

Advanced Usage

• "bathe in something": To be covered or immersed in a particular quality, often light or a feeling.

  • The old castle was bathed in the golden light of sunset.
  • She bathed in the admiration of the crowd.

• "bathe oneself in something": To immerse oneself deliberately in an experience or environment.

  • He bathed himself in the culture of the country.

Variants and Related Words

• Bath (noun): The act of washing or the container used for washing.
  • I'm going to take a bath.
• Bathing (noun/gerund): The activity of swimming or spending time in water.
  • Bathing in the river is prohibited here.
• Sunbathe (verb): To sit or lie in the sun to get a suntan.
  • They were sunbathing on the beach.

Synonyms

• Wash: To clean with water and usually soap.
• Soak: To lie immersed in liquid.
• Immerse: To dip or submerge in a liquid.
• Flood: To cover or fill completely, often with light.

Phrasal Verbs

• Bathe in: (As covered in Advanced Usage) To be covered or enveloped by something.
  • The room bathed in a soft, warm glow.

Idioms

• Bathe in glory: To enjoy great public admiration or praise.
  • After winning the championship, the team bathed in glory.
• Bathe in the reflected glory: To benefit from the success or prestige of someone close.
  • As the director's assistant, she often bathed in his reflected glory.

Noun

1. the act of swimming
   • the Englishman said he had a good bathe

Verb

1. clean one's body by immersion into water
   • The child should bathe every day
2. suffuse with or as if with light
   • The room was bathed in sunlight
3. cleanse the entire body
   • bathe daily