throw out the baby with the bath water

A form of throw the baby out with the bathwater — 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").

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Meanings

verbthrow out the baby with the bath water (third-person singular simple present throws out the baby with the bath water, present participle throwing out the baby with the bath water, simple past threw out the baby with the bath water, past participle thrown out the baby with the bath water)

present singular third person throws out the baby with the bath water · participle present throwing out the baby with the bath water · past threw out the baby with the bath water · participle past thrown out the baby with the bath water

  1. alternativeAlternative form of throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Cite this entry
APA

throw out the baby with the bath water. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20out%20the%20baby%20with%20the%20bath%20water

MLA

“throw out the baby with the bath water.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20out%20the%20baby%20with%20the%20bath%20water. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throw out the baby with the bath water,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20out%20the%20baby%20with%20the%20bath%20water.

Source: throw out the baby with the bath water on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.