noun
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precipitation in the form of raindrops
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meteorol the amount of precipitation in a specified place and time
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rainfall
Vocabulary lists containing rainfall
The Water Cycle - Introductory
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Earth Science - Middle School
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The Water Cycle - Middle School and 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:
It will take weeks of above average rainfall into the autumn to make any significant changes to the drought.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
But he fears that, without some substantial rainfall, the crop will be poor after such a hot, dry summer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Forecasters in Indianapolis said more rainfall is possible Sunday, posing the threat of possible flash flooding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green urged residents to shelter in place as rainfall reached 2 inches an hour in some areas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Did it indeed seem probable, as he had once overheard Dunbar ask, that the answers to the riddles of creation would be supplied by people too ignorant to understand the mechanics of rainfall?
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Extreme rainfalls during the ongoing monsoon season are a major source of floods in several parts of India.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025
California has otherwise experienced a mild wildfire season, after dozens of atmospheric rivers pummeled the state earlier this year and delivered record rainfalls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2023
The research team considered how these urban land changes might affect weather extremes like heat waves, cold waves, heavy rainfalls and severe thunderstorms.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2023
Heavy rainfalls just before an autumn harvest have triggered major rot epidemics with significant losses to growers in three of Tasmania's last five growing seasons.
From Salon ● May 31, 2023
The rainy season in Sierra Leone falls between May and October, with the heaviest rainfalls in July, August, and September.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
