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

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of take a bath was in 1935

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Take a bath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20a%20bath. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.

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