Also used: draw a bath
Meaning Of Idiom ‘Run a Bath’
To run a bath means to fill a bathtub with enough water for bathing. To run a bath, one uses the taps, or bathtub faucet.
Another way to say ‘run a bath’ is ‘draw a bath.’ This earlier idiom is based on drawing up water from a pump.
Although the phrase run a bath is used in the US, it is more common in Britain. In the US, people more often say ‘fill the tub.’
A pronoun or name can be inserted between the words run and bath. For example, “Can you run me a bath?” or “run Mary a bath.” One can also run a bath for someone.
30 English Idioms With Run
Sentence Examples
“You just relax and I’ll go run a bath for you.”
“Would you mind running a bath for me?”
“Can you run me a bath? I’m so exhausted.”
“Go run a bath for Mary while we finish up her homework.”
“Lately when I run a bath the water is all brown looking.”
“I have a headache and body aches. Just draw me a bath and I’ll take an aspirin or two.”
Origin
The origin date of this idiom is unclear although ‘draw a bath’ is almost certainly the older of the two variations. The first is based on the act of ‘drawing’ water, as with a pump. To draw water is to pull water from a well or other container.
The second variation, run a bath, is based on the more modern advent of ‘running water,’that does not require a pump to extract.
