# bathing

Pronunciation: say "BAY-thing" US /ˈbeɪ.ðɪŋ/, UK /ˈbeɪˌðɪŋ(ɡ)/

## Verb

1. Present participle of bathe. — present participle and gerund of bathe
   - Simple: Present participle of bathe. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _Several children were bathing near the shallow end of the lake._
   - _The vet recommended bathing the wound twice a day in warm salt water._
4. Present participle of bath. *(Commonwealth)* — present participle and gerund of bath (pronounced: US say "BATH-ing" /ˈbæθ.ɪŋ/; UK say "BAHTH-ing" /ˈbɑːθ.ɪŋ/)
   - Simple: Present participle of bath. Used mainly in British English for washing someone in a bath.
   - _She was bathing the newborn in the kitchen sink while her mother watched._
   - _Bathing the children every evening had become part of the family routine._

## Noun

2. Washing the body in a tub of water.
   - Simple: The act of washing your body in a tub of water.
   - _Regular bathing was considered a rare luxury in many earlier centuries._
   - _After the long hike, bathing felt like the greatest reward imaginable._
3. The act of swimming.
   - Simple: The act of swimming in water for pleasure or exercise.
   - _Bathing was once a fashionable pastime along that stretch of coast._
   - _Lifeguards posted clear warnings wherever bathing became dangerous at high tide._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3** — From Middle English bathynge, equivalent to "bathe" plus the suffix "-ing".
**Meaning 4** — Formed from the word "bath".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bathing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).