English Reference
Idiom idiom

take a bath


To lose a large amount of money in an investment.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

He took a bath on his bad stock investment.

CONTEXTUAL

The company took a bath when the market crashed and they lost millions on their new project.

COMPLEX

Investors who bought the property at the height of the bubble took a bath when prices plummeted shortly after the purchase.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    be taken ill

    To become ill.

  2. 02

    cross to take up

    Alternative form of cross to bear.

  3. 03

    early bath

    The condition of being shown a red card in soccer.

  4. 04

    forget to take one's medication this morning

    To be annoyed or irritable, or to behave in an ill-mannered way, particularly in the morning.

  5. 05

    get taken in

    To be fooled; to fall for.

  6. 06

    give and take

    A process of compromise or accommodation.

  7. 07

    give someone an inch and someone will take a mile

    Alternative form of give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

  8. 08

    have one's name taken

    To receive a yellow card.

Last updated August 10, 2026