take a bath

phrase

informal

: to suffer a heavy financial loss

take a bath on an investment

ESPN also is expected to take a bath in the first year of its new, four-year, $450 million NFL football package … . Combined baseball and NFL losses may eat up as much as $60 million this year alone.

—John Steinbreder

Apollo Global Management and TPG, the two private equity giants in the 2008 leveraged buyout of Caesars, took a bath on the company before exiting the investment several months ago.

—Christopher Palmeri

Examples of take a bath in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The book also offers recommendations, like taking a bath together or lighting candles, to help couples get in the right mental space. — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 15 July 2026

Those include swimming dolphins, traveling in space, and taking a bath with a whale. — Parents, 3 July 2026

After taking a bath, these towels don’t feel weighed down at all. — Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 3 Apr. 2026

After the miniseries, HGTV took a bath on the sale. — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take a bath

• osteopath
• aftermath
• multipath
• psychopath
• bloodbath
• footpath
• towpath
• warpath
• hath
• lath
• math
• path