take the waters

verb

To attend a spa with waters believed to offer healing qualities, such as mineral waters and (especially) hot springs.

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Meanings

verbtake the waters (third-person singular simple present takes the waters, present participle taking the waters, simple past took the waters, past participle taken the waters)

present singular third person takes the waters · participle present taking the waters · past took the waters · participle past taken the waters

  1. To attend a spa with waters believed to offer healing qualities, such as mineral waters and (especially) hot springs.

    The arrival of the railway turned this isolated fishing village into a popular seaside destination for Victorians who came to breathe fresh sea air, clear their lungs or take the waters.

    2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: Grange-over-Sands”, in RAIL, number 948, page 27
    1 more example

    And that evening, I have the chance to “take the waters” in the spa downstairs, which I do as much as I can while I am here–the hotel is the only one in Bath with direct access to the natural thermal spring water.

    2025 May 10, Jemima Kelly, “My week with Jane Austen”, in FT Weekend (Travel section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7

Translations

Italian passare le acque
  • passare le acqueTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

take the waters. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20waters

MLA

“take the waters.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20waters. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take the waters,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20waters.

Source: take the waters on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.