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
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-
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
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(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
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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
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has rainedperfect
-
am rainingprogressive
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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:
However rain will move into Northern Ireland during the afternoon and then trek slowly eastwards throughout the evening and night.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
A vast area of low pressure in the Atlantic is set to draw warm south to south-easterly winds across the UK early this week, but for some rain will not be far behind.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Behind the rain it is back to sunny spells and scattered showers, and still windy in the west on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Pedestrians in plastic rain ponchos trudged through murky floodwaters in Bangkok's east -- knee-deep in some areas of a grocery store parking lot -- floating their belongings in plastic tubs alongside them, AFP journalists saw.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
As soon as the car pulls off, a heavy, angry rain starts to pour.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Days of almost continuous heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in the Thai capital, with the city's governor declaring it a disaster-affected zone.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Once the rains arrive, don’t drive into floodwaters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
As warm waters shift east in the Pacific, the tropical rains they generate move with them—creating fertile conditions for hurricanes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Then, when it rains — like it did this year — the mud can become thick and ankle-deep.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Like they say, When it rains it pours.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
"It hasn't rained for half an hour and it's as bright as it's been all day. Absolutely no justification for not playing right now. A real shame."
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
It means going places you may never have wanted to go, sometimes at the worst times of year, with no guarantee that the spectacle won’t be rained out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Unfortunately, it rained and rained and Angel Stadium became a soggy field more suitable for ducks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
If you cannot remember the last time it rained, you are probably not alone.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
We’d get rained on going to get it and be soaking wet and cold after that.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
The baby was left uncovered while it was raining.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
It was raining, and there were no customers.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
"It was quite hard work, adjusting to life on the farm, we also had the worst winter that year when we moved back, I don't think it stopped raining for about four months," Joe said.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
All of this would happen because the financial professional had read the midyear reports raining down from major financial institutions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
I wondered how it was even possible that a bird could still fly when it was raining.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
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.
