Bath or bathe?
bath is a noun meaning “A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub”; bathe is a verb meaning “To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a…”. Use bath as a noun and bathe as a verb (bath is also a verb: “To wash a person or animal in a bath”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) bath is about 17 times as common as bathe.
What is the difference between bath and bathe?
| bath | bathe | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | verb, noun |
| Meaning | A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub A building or area where bathing occurs CommonwealthTo wash a person or animal in a bath | To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath To immerse oneself, or part of the body, in water for pleasure or refreshment; to swim UKcolloquialThe act of swimming or bathing, especially in the sea, a lake, or a river; a swimming bath |
| Example | The master bath has two sinks | We bathe our baby before going to bed; other parents do it in the morning if they have time |
| Forms | baths | bathes, bathing, bathed |
| Pronunciation | /bɑːθ/ [bɑːθ] [bäːt̪ʰ] | /beɪð/ /beð/ /bɑð/ |
| In writing | 28 times per million words | 1.7 times per million words |
Sources: bath and bathe in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of bath and bathe
bath
- 1
A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub
- 2
CommonwealthTo wash a person or animal in a bath
- 3
A former Hebrew unit of liquid volume (about 23 L or 6 gallons)
Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah…
- 4
A building or area where bathing occurs
- 5
CommonwealthinformalTo bathe (oneself); to have a bath
- 6
informalClipping of bathroom
The master bath has two sinks
- 7
The act of bathing; an instance of this; the taking of a bath
- 8
Specifically, bathing by immersing the body in water, rather than through other means, or an instance of this
Do you prefer baths or showers?
bathe
- 1
To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath
- 2
UKcolloquialThe act of swimming or bathing, especially in the sea, a lake, or a river; a swimming bath
I'm going to have a midnight bathe tonight
- 3
To immerse oneself, or part of the body, in water for pleasure or refreshment; to swim
- 4
To clean a person by immersion in water or using water; to give someone a bath
We bathe our baby before going to bed; other parents do it in the morning if they have time
- 5
To apply water or other liquid to; to suffuse or cover with liquid
She bathed her eyes with liquid to remove the stinging chemical
- 6
To cover or surround
The room was bathed in moonlight
- 7
To sunbathe
The women bathed in the sun
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, bath or bathe?
bath appears 28 times per million words; bathe 1.7 times per million words.
bath 28 times per million wordsbathe 1.7 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search bath vs bathe?
“bath vs bathe” is searched about 1,000 times a month on Google and 30 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“bathe vs bath”, “bath or bathe”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.