batch /bæ tʃ/ (batches ) N‑COUNT A batch of things or people is a group of things or people of the same kind, especially a group that is dealt with at the same time or is sent to a particular place at the same time. □ [+ of ] …the current batch of trainee priests. □ [+ of ] She brought a large batch of newspaper cuttings.
bat|ed /be I t I d/ PHRASE If you wait for something with bated breath , you wait anxiously to find out what will happen. [FORMAL ] □ We listened with bated breath to Grandma's stories of her travels.
bath ◆◇◇ /bɑː θ, bæ θ/ (baths , bathing , bathed ) When the form baths is the plural of the noun it is pronounced /bɑː ðz/ or /bæ θs/ in British English, and /bæ ðz/ in American English. When it is used in the present tense of the verb, it is pronounced /bɑː θs/ or /bæ θs/. 1 N‑COUNT A bath is a container, usually a long rectangular one, which you fill with water and sit in while you wash your body. [BRIT ] □ In those days, only quite wealthy families had baths of their own. in AM, use bathtub 2 N‑COUNT When you have or take a bath , or when you are in the bath , you sit or lie in a bath filled with water in order to wash your body. □ …if you have a bath every morning. □ Take a shower instead of a bath.
3 VERB If you bath someone, especially a child, you wash them in a bath. [BRIT ] □ [V n] Don't feel you have to bath your child every day. ● N‑COUNT Bath is also a noun. □ The midwife gave him a warm bath. [in AM, use bathe ]
4 VERB When you bath , you have a bath. [BRIT ] □ [V prep/adv] The three children all bath in the same bath water. in AM, use bathe 5 N‑COUNT A bath or a baths is a public building containing a swimming pool, and sometimes other facilities that people can use to have a wash or a bath.
6 N‑COUNT A bath is a container filled with a particular liquid, such as a dye or an acid, in which particular objects are placed, usually as part of a manufacturing or chemical process. □ …a developing photograph placed in a bath of fixer.
7 → see also bloodbath , bubble bath , swimming bath , Turkish bath
bathe /be I ð/ (bathes , bathing , bathed )
1 VERB If you bathe in a sea, river, or lake, you swim, play, or wash yourself in it. Birds and animals can also bathe . [mainly BRIT , FORMAL ] □ [V prep/adv] The police have warned the city's inhabitants not to bathe in the polluted river. [Also V ] ● N‑SING Bathe is also a noun. □ Fifty soldiers were taking an early morning bathe in a nearby lake. ● bath|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Nude bathing is not allowed.
2 VERB When you bathe , you have a bath. [AM , also BRIT , FORMAL ] □ [V ] At least 60% of us now bathe or shower once a day.
3 VERB If you bathe someone, especially a child, you wash them in a bath. [AM , also BRIT , FORMAL ] □ [V n] Back home, Shirley plays with, feeds and bathes the baby.
4 VERB If you bathe a part of your body or a wound, you wash it gently or soak it in a liquid. □ [V n] Bathe the infected area in a salt solution.
5 VERB If a place is bathed in light, it is covered with light, especially a gentle, pleasant light. □ [be V -ed + in ] The arena was bathed in warm sunshine. □ [V n + in ] The lamp behind him seems to bathe him in warmth. [Also V n]
6 → see also sunbathe
bathed /be I ðd/
1 ADJ If someone is bathed in sweat, they are sweating a great deal. □ [+ in ] Chantal was writhing in pain and bathed in perspiration.
2 ADJ If someone is bathed in a particular emotion such as love, they feel it constantly in a pleasant way. [LITERARY ] □ [+ in ] …a physical sensation of being bathed in love.
bath|er /be I ðə r / (bathers ) N‑COUNT A bather is a person who is swimming in the sea, or in a river or lake. [mainly BRIT , FORMAL ]
bath|house /bɑː θhaʊs/ (bathhouses ) also bath house N‑COUNT A bathhouse is a public or private building containing baths, and often other facilities such as a sauna.
bath|ing cos|tume /be I ð I ŋ kɒstjuːm, [AM ] -tuːm/ (bathing costumes ) N‑COUNT A bathing costume is a piece of clothing that is worn for swimming, especially by women and girls. [BRIT , OLD-FASHIONED ]
bath|ing suit /be I ð I ŋ suːt/ (bathing suits ) N‑COUNT A bathing suit is a piece of clothing which people wear when they go swimming. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
bath|ing trunks /be I ð I ŋ trʌŋks/ N‑PLURAL Bathing trunks are shorts that a man wears when he goes swimming. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
bath|mat /bɑː θmæt, bæ θ-/ (bathmats ) also bath mat N‑COUNT A bathmat is a mat which you stand on while you dry yourself after getting out of the bath.
ba|thos /be I θɒs/ N‑UNCOUNT In literary criticism, bathos is a sudden change in speech or writing from a serious or important subject to a ridiculous or very ordinary one. [TECHNICAL ]
bath|robe /bɑː θroʊb/ (bathrobes )
1 N‑COUNT A bathrobe is a loose piece of clothing made of the same material as towels. You wear it before or after you have a bath or a swim.
2 N‑COUNT A bathrobe is a dressing gown .
bath|room ◆◇◇ /bɑː θruːm, bæ θ-/ (bathrooms )
1 N‑COUNT A bathroom is a room in a house that contains a bath or shower, a washbasin, and sometimes a toilet.
2 N‑SING A bathroom is a room in a house or public building that contains a toilet. [AM ] □ She had gone in to use the bathroom. in BRIT, usually use toilet