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.
“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
Along with "Rainbow Six", those two franchises have been brought together under Vantage Studios, the first of Ubisoft's creative houses to be named, which has also received investment from Chinese internet giant Tencent.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
UC Irvine held a sizable lead in the first set against the Rainbow Warriors and eventually pulled away to win 25-15.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
He made “The Rainbow Landscape” from 18 strips of oak, assembled and joined over time.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
“After all, not even Edith-Anne Pevington wrote postcards to Rainbow, clever pony that he was,” she thought as she helped the little girl squirm her arms into the sleeves.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
