To bathe is to wash in water, or to surround something completely with liquid, light, or warmth.

When you bathe, you immerse yourself in water to get clean: a baby splashing in a tub, a dog getting scrubbed after rolling in mud. In British English, bathing can also mean swimming for pleasure; a “bathing suit” preserves this older sense of the word.

The word extends beautifully beyond water. Sunlight can bathe a room in golden warmth. Moonlight might bathe a garden in silver. A stadium's floodlights bathe the field in brightness. In these uses, bathe suggests being gently surrounded or soaked in something pleasant.

Notice how bathe differs from wash. You wash your hands quickly at the sink, but you bathe in a more leisurely way, fully immersed. Bathing implies time, warmth, and a sense of being enveloped.