baths

Pluralbaths

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of bath.

   The hotel advertises private baths in every guest room.

   Mineral baths draw visitors to the old spa town each summer.

   Note

   The spelling is a regular plural, though many speakers voice the ending, saying /ðz/ against the voiceless /θ/ of bath. It covers every sense of the singular: tubs, the water in them, and more broadly any liquid things are immersed in, as in a darkroom's chemical baths. When it names a single building with a pool, it is the public-pool building, and the same spelling also serves the verb form.

2. 2
   nounUKcountable

   A public building containing a swimming pool or shower facilities, originally one with individual cubicles for people whose homes had no bathroom.

   The baths just behind the town hall are where the pupils go for their swimming lessons every Thursday.

   Many residents once relied on the public baths because their homes lacked plumbing.

   Similarpool, bathhouse

   Note

   A British building name that keeps its plural shape while meaning one place. Speakers say a baths, and the verb stays singular, as in the baths is across the road. The word began with buildings of private cubicles where people with no bathroom at home could wash. Today it names a public swimming pool or shower facilities.

3. 3
   verbCommonwealth

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of bath. Chiefly British; American English uses bathes.

   The nurse baths each patient gently before the morning rounds.

   Every night the new father baths his youngest child himself.

   Note

   The verb form belongs to Commonwealth English, where bath works as a verb as well as a noun. With an object it means washing someone else, as in she baths the baby. Without an object it means taking a bath yourself. That second use is more informal and suits everyday speech rather than careful writing.

   He usually baths straight after his evening run.

   She never showers; she baths every night instead.

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