Phrase guide

throw the baby out with the bathwater

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /θɹəʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪð ðə ˈbɑːθwɔːtə(ɹ)/
  • General-American: /θɹoʊ ðə ˈbeɪbi aʊt wɪθ ðə ˈbæθwɔtɚ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To discard, inadvertently or through overzealousness, something valuable or essential ("the baby") in the process of removing or rejecting something unwanted or undesirable ("the bathwater").

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • They cancelled the entire project because the new management didn't like the prototype, but I think they threw the baby out with the bathwater.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque of German das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten, a proverb first recorded by Thomas Murner in his satire Narrenbeschwörung (1512). First appeared in English when Thomas Carlyle translated it in an essay on slavery (1849).

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: vylít vaničku i s dítětem — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Danish: kaste barnet ud med badevandet — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Danish: smide barnet ud med badevandet — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Dutch: het kind met het badwater weggooien — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Finnish: heittää lapsi pois pesuveden mukana — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Finnish: heittää lapsi pesuveden mukana — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • French: jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • German: das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Hebrew: שפך את התינוק עם המים — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Hungarian: a fürdővízzel együtt a gyereket is kiönti — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Icelandic: að kasta barninu út með baðvatninu — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Irish: an t-asal a dhíol leis an adhastar — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Italian: buttare il bambino con l'acqua sporca — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Norwegian Bokmål: helle barnet ut med badevannet — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kaste barnet ut med badevannet — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Norwegian Bokmål: slå barnet ut med badevannet — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: slå ut barnet med badevatnet — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Polish: wylewać dziecko z kąpielą — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Polish: wylać dziecko z kąpielą — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Portuguese: deitar fora a criança com a água do banho — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Portuguese: jogar fora o bebê com a água do banho — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Russian: вме́сте с водо́й вы́плеснуть и ребёнка (vméste s vodój výplesnutʹ i rebjónka) — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Russian: вы́плеснуть ребёнка вме́сте с водо́й (výplesnutʹ rebjónka vméste s vodój) — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted
  • Swedish: kasta ut barnet med badvattnet — (idiomatic) to discard the valuable along with the unwanted