# bathe

> English word · Verb · IPA /beɪð/ · frequency rank #21,729

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

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **both** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-both)
- **bite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-bite)
- **beth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-beth)
- **bats** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-bats)
- **byte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-byte)
- **bute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-bute)
- **batt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-batt)
- **baths** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-baths)
- **baton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-baton)
- **Bette** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-bette)
- **butte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-butte)
- **batty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-batty)
- **Botha** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-botha)
- **battle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-battle)
- **bother** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-bother)
- **batter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-batter)
- **batted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-batted)
- **bathed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-bathed)
- **bethel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-bethel)
- **Blythe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bathe-vs-blythe)

## Common misspellings (7)
`abthe`, `bahte`, `bateh`, `bathhe`, `batthe`, `bbathe`, `btahe`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bathe