sponge bath
15
3.2
- noun
- /spʌndʒ bæθ/
:
baño de esponja
- The nurse helped me take a sponge bath when I was unable to use the shower.
- give a sponge bath
- take a sponge bath
- ready for a sponge bath
The first thing I do is I my tradition is to take a full sponge bath.
- The first thing I do is I my tradition is to take a full sponge bath.
- The other week grandmother was giving me a sponge bath whilst I had diarrhea and extreme vomiting.
Examples
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After my workout, another sponge bath and a "dry" shampoo.
Fiction book (2000) -
If we got really dirty during the week from playing outside, which we did as much as we could, we could only take a sponge bath.
Blog text (19) -
Can you give me a sponge bath too?
-
I told you the sponge bath would work.
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Ready for your sponge bath?
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I need a sponge bath.
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We'll be back later for your sponge bath, Mr. Van Dyke.
-
We changed our dirty clothes and took sponge baths in warm water brought to us in our room.
Fiction book (1991) -
Giving him sponge baths, cleaning up his messes, helping him in and out of bed, just everything.
Fiction book (2002) -
Prepare a sponge bath.
How Thorough
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a method of washing the body using a wet sponge' is directly and compositionally derived from 'sponge' (a cleaning/absorbing material) + 'bath' (an act of washing). This noun compound follows a transparent, descriptive pattern common in English (and mirrored in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Sponge bath comes from the simple, literal idea of using a wet sponge or cloth to give someone a small bath when they cannot use a tub or shower. Imagine gently wiping a person's skin with a wet sponge—so the phrase means 'washing the body by wiping with a wet cloth instead of taking a full bath or shower'.