bathe

/beɪð/

//beɪð// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bathe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bathe” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,729. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,729
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bathe · bathe · English

bathe · rank #21,729 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,729
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH beheaded

Nearest frequency peer: beheaded (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “bathe”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “bathe” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bathe vs both
60% similar
bathe vs bite
60% similar
bathe vs beth
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bathe
PropertyValue
Headwordbathe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/beɪð/
Letters5
Frequency rank#21,729
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bathe”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bathelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “beheaded” (#21,730), “auspices” (#21,727), “Bellevue” (#21,731). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bathe” is #21,729. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around bathe (IPA /beɪð/), averb. Corpus frequency is #21,729 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for bathe, with forms such as "abthe", "bahte", and "bateh". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "both", "bite", "beth", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bathen, from Old English baþian (“to bathe, wash”), from Proto-West Germanic *baþōn, from Proto-Germanic *baþōną (“to bathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- (“to warm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian boadje (“to bathe”), Dutch baden … The correct English form is bathe, spelled B-A-T-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath.
  2. 2
    To immerse oneself, or part of the body, in water for pleasure or refreshment; to swim.
  3. 3
    To clean a person by immersion in water or using water; to give someone a bath.
  4. 4
    To apply water or other liquid to; to suffuse or cover with liquid.
  5. 5
    To cover or surround.
  6. 6
    To sunbathe.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bathe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We do not bathe to make ourselves clean, but to keep clean, and for the sake of its health-giving and invigorating effects. Once a week a warm bath, at about 100°, may be used, with plenty of soap, in order to thoroughly cleanse the pores of the skin.
  2. A Greek historian Phylarchus describes a white root indigenous to India that caused eunuchism when a person bathed in water in which the root was steeped.

Etymology

From Middle English bathen, from Old English baþian (“to bathe, wash”), from Proto-West Germanic *baþōn, from Proto-Germanic *baþōną (“to bathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- (“to warm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian boadje (“to bathe”), Dutch baden (“to bathe”), German Low German baden (“to bathe”), German baden (“to bathe”), Danish bade (“to bathe”), Swedish bada (“to bathe”), Icelandic baða (“to bathe”). More at bath. Compare also bask.

This word in other languages

bañarse(Español)se baigner(Français)baden(Deutsch)banhar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abthe
  • bahte
  • bateh
  • bathhe
  • batthe
  • bbathe
  • btahe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bathe - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abthe2bahte2bateh2bathhe1batthe1bbathe1btahe2
Edit distance from "bathe"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bathe"?
"bathe" is spelled B-A-T-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /beɪð/.
What does "bathe" mean?
As a verb, "bathe" means: To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath.
What words are commonly confused with "bathe"?
"bathe" is commonly confused with "both", "bite", "beth". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bathe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bathe" is /beɪð/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bathe"?
From Middle English bathen, from Old English baþian (“to bathe, wash”), from Proto-West Germanic *baþōn, from Proto-Germanic *baþōną (“to bathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- (“to warm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian boadje (“to bathe”), Du... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bathe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wight#21,706Cosby#21,761valor#21,695dares#21,771

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Ctrl7 variantstriad7 variantstaker7 variantsfeces7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list