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Wonder123 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

bathe / give bath

Bathe him as quick as you can.
Give him a hot bath before you put him to bed.
Give your baby a shower every day because it will keep her healthy.

give him a bath/bath him what is the difference and can I use shower in place of bath? please help me understand.
  

Top answer

"give him a bath" and "bath him" mean near enough the same. "bathe him" has a similar meaning, but to me sounds more specialised and less like a routine bath. "shower" and "bath" are two different ways of cleaning one's body.

— GPY

  • "give him a bath" and "bath him" mean near enough the same.
  • "bathe him" has a similar meaning, but to me sounds more specialised and less like a routine bath.
  • "shower" and "bath" are two different ways of cleaning one's body.
  • In a shower you stand underneath a spray of water, whereas in a bath you immerse yourself in a big tub of water.
  • It is more usual, as far as I know, to bath babies rather than shower them.
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4 Answers
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"give him a bath" and "bath him" mean near enough the same. "bathe him" has a similar meaning, but to me sounds more specialised and less like a routine bath.

"shower" and "bath" are two different ways of cleaning one's body. In a shower you stand underneath a spray of water, whereas in a bath you immerse yourself in a big tub of water. It is more usual, as far as I know, to bath babies r
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'Bathe' is relatively rare in AmE; in BrE it means 'swim', I believe.
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Mister Micawber'Bathe' is relatively rare in AmE; in BrE it means 'swim', I believe.
Right, that would be an intransitive meaning though.
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I've just noticed also that Oxford Dictionaries says the relevant meaning of transitive "bathe" (i.e. "wash (someone) in a bath") is North American.* That is probably why to me it sounds less natural (in this context) than "bath". So, you can consider my earlier reply as from a BrE perspective. Perhaps a North American speaker can comment on whether "bath" is used transitively over there, and, if
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