rain
Americannoun
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rains
plural
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water that is condensed from the aqueous vapor in the atmosphere and falls to earth in drops more than 0.02 inch (0.5 millimeters) in diameter.
-
a rainfall, rainstorm, or shower.
We had a light rain this afternoon.
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rains, the rainy season; seasonal rainfall, as in India.
-
weather marked by steady or frequent rainfall.
We had rain most of last summer.
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a heavy and continuous descent or inflicting of anything.
a rain of blows; a rain of vituperation.
verb (used without object)
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rains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rained,
past participle, past
-
raining
present participle
-
(of rain) to fall (usually used impersonally with it as subject).
It rained all night.
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to fall like rain.
Tears rained from their eyes.
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to send down rain.
The lightning flashed and the sky rained on us in torrents.
verb (used with object)
-
rains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rained,
past participle, past
-
raining
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
noun
-
-
precipitation from clouds in the form of drops of water, formed by the condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere
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a fall of rain; shower
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( in combination )
a raindrop
-
-
a large quantity of anything falling rapidly or in quick succession
a rain of abuse
-
-
regardless of the weather
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regardless of circumstances
-
-
informal perfectly all right; perfectly fit
verb
-
(intr; with it as subject) to be the case that rain is falling
-
to fall or cause to fall like rain
the lid flew off and popcorn rained on everyone
-
(tr) to bestow in large measure
to rain abuse on someone
-
informal to rain heavily; pour
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cancelled or postponed on account of rain
-
Water that condenses from water vapor in the atmosphere and falls to Earth as separate drops from clouds. Rain forms primarily in three ways: at weather fronts, when the water vapor in the warmer mass of air cools and condenses; along mountain ranges, when a warm mass of air is forced to rise over a mountain and its water vapor cools and condenses; and by convection in hot climates, when the water vapor in suddenly rising masses of warm air cools and condenses.
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See also hydrologic cycle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rainsimple
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rainssimple
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have rainedperfect
-
has rainedperfect
-
am rainingprogressive
-
are rainingprogressive
-
is rainingprogressive
-
have been rainingperfect progressive
-
has been rainingperfect progressive
Past
-
rainedsimple
-
had rainedperfect
-
was rainingprogressive
-
were rainingprogressive
-
had been rainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rain
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English rein; Old English regn, rēn, cognate with Dutch, German regen, Old Norse regn, Gothic rign; (verb) Middle English reinen, Old English regnian
Explanation
Rain is what makes you go running for your umbrella. It's that water that comes down from sky when the dark clouds roll in. You can also use rain as a verb — as in the expression "Don't rain on my parade," which means don't ruin my good time by giving me bad news. You can also describe anything that comes down quickly and in quantity as something that rains down. On New Year's Eve, confetti rains down in Times Square. If you're unfortunate enough to find yourself in a war zone, you might hear bombs raining down around you.
Vocabulary lists containing rain
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Floods, landslides and accidents driven by a nine-day downpour equivalent to more than a month's worth of rain in some areas have killed at least 13 people in the northern Philippines, rescuers said Monday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
River levels have continued to fall after less than 10mm of rain across England for the seventh consecutive week.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Notably, the very strong 2015-16 El Niño did not result in above-average rain for Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Typhoon Dolphin brought heavy rain to eastern China on Monday, causing hundreds of flight cancellations even as the storm weakened and some cities resumed public transport.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
I’m not a person who dances in the rain.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The path would be unusable during heavy rains, but Bar-Zemer and others say that would be less than 20 days each year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
State weather forecaster Dan Villamil said rains in the vacation spot four hours north of the capital were already 47 percent higher than normal for the whole month.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Neighbouring Sri Lanka has also seen unusually heavy monsoon rains that have caused flash floods and mudslides, claiming the lives of at least eight people since Monday, according to the Disaster Management Centre.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Logistic disruptions from typhoons, heavy rains and other weather events could have a meaningful negative impact on shipping,” the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
When it rains in New York, rich people’s dogs wear miniature raincoats and plastic slippers that pinch their paws, and kids giggle and shriek and splash in the puddles.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The first day all the members of the Women’s Professional Baseball League were at the same field, it rained.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
People reported specks of black oil rained down on the streets after the attack, which also saw columns of thick smoke going into the sky.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
The real-life SGA was asked during a TV interview after Game 3 in San Antonio about the “flopper!” chants that rained down on him at Frost Bank Center.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
"In 2006, nearly 2,000 residents suffered from vertigo, sight problems and nausea after it rained in Guney, with blood tests showing cyanide in their blood," he said.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
“He hates storms—we’re about to get rained on!”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
You have to schlep around while it’s raining, snowing or just hot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"I love it under here, when it's raining you can walk to the shops without getting your hair wet."
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
"It sounds like it's raining, which is a sound I don't mind too much," Bianco said.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
It’s an easy comfort meal for when I’m missing home and craving a dish that feels like a warm hug, whether it’s raining outside or not.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
It was still raining the next morning when the men woke up and discovered that two canoes were missing.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
