a bow or arc of prismatic colors appearing in the heavens opposite the sun and caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in drops of rain.
a similar bow of colors, especially one appearing in the spray of a waterfall or fountain.
any brightly multicolored arrangement or display.
a wide variety or range; gamut.
a visionary goal.
He pursued the rainbow of a singing career for years before becoming a success.
a bow-shaped display in the sky of the colours of the spectrum, caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays through rain or mist
any similar display of bright colours
( as modifier )
a rainbow pattern
an illusory hope
to chase rainbows
(modifier) of or relating to a political grouping together by several minorities, esp of different races
the rainbow coalition
The colors of the rainbow are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English reinbowe, Old English regnboga, rēnboga; cognate with Old Norse regnbogi, German Regenbogen; see rain, bow 2
That colorful arc you sometimes see in the sky right after it stops raining? That's a rainbow. The scientific explanation for a rainbow's appearance is that light is refracted in water droplets, briefly revealing the full visible spectrum of light — all of the colors that make it up. While there are actually about a hundred colors in the visible spectrum, we tend to describe a rainbow as having six or seven. In Old English, there were two words for this phenomenon: scurboga, or "shower-bow," proved to be less popular than renboga, "rain bow."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When the match started, a handful of rainbow flags were sprinkled throughout the crowd in the Seattle Stadium -- but there was little other sign of the Pride event happening outside its walls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
But inside The Loft bar, a rainbow balloon arch welcomes guests to an explosion of colour.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
Mars could have delayed the rollout until it was able to replicate M&M’s full rainbow, but executives wanted to press ahead, said Anton Vincent, who leads the company’s North American snacks business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Fish species affected included largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, flathead catfish, and stocked species such as brown trout and rainbow trout.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
Miss Sunshine scooped with a smile, and agreed to hold Chicken’s rainbow sherbet in the freezer until they were ready to walk home.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Snooker's Shaun Murphy narrowly missed out a second world title last month and has been recognised for his charity work, notably for the Rainbow Children's Hospice in the Midlands.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Authorities have listed 16 people suspected of illegal trading activity and violations of the Capital Markets Act, including Rainbow Robotics’ head and CFO.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
“It would be absurd to keep going back and forth with the whims of the weather,” Dan Waber, Rainbow Tomatoes Garden’s owner, told Salon Senior Food Editor, Ashlie D. Stevens in June 2025.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
Vantage Studios, the first creative house backed by China’s Tencent Holdings, is responsible for games like “Assassin’s Creed,” “Far Cry” and “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six” franchises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
To the right were the words: “To our friends and family who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We love you. We’ll miss you.”
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
“This situation is clearly not all sunshine and rainbows, it’s cold and foggy.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
"This is not going to be the festival of rainbows and kisses as it was in the past," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025
"Last season, we did some negative stuff but everything was all sunshine and rainbows everywhere. Now it sounds like we're going to be in a relegation battle - that's how it works in the world."
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
In later masterpieces such as “Seven Samurai,” “Kagemusha” and “Dreams,” Kurosawa used storms and even rainbows to underline the significance of water as an element.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Lame songs about mountains and clouds and rainbows, my uncle said.
From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
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.
