take a bath

idiomatic 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 trailer opens with a montage of Aurora living in luxury — taking a bath and looking at clothing designs, trying on an elegant dress, and dancing onstage — as Lopez’s vocals play in the background. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025

Don’t take a bath or shower during the storm, Miami-Dade County says. —Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 23 May 2025

Whiskey the German Shepherd Dog takes a bath in a huge puddle of mud. —Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025

There are also adorable shots of Emma sitting on a horse, taking a bath and cuddling with her mom, Jordan's fiancée Jenna Weeks. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 22 May 2025

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