have a bath vs take a bath

When you hear people say have a bath or take a bath, what do you think? That one is correct and the other is not? Not at all.

They’re both correct, and here’s why:

In this context, bath is always a noun in American English but both a noun and a verb in British English.


Americans naturally say take a bath to mean wash oneself in a tub of water and use bathe as the verb form. They however use have a shower when talking about a wedding shower, but not in the sense of cleaning the body.


  1. She was always the first to take her bath because she wakes early.
  2.  While he bathed, his wife called the police.


Britons naturally say have a bath and bathe is used to mean swim or pour liquid on. 


  1. Don’t disturb me, I’ll take my bath in the afternoon.
  2. If you bath them today, who will do it tomorrow?
  3. It’s a new swimming pool for everyone to bathe.


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