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Synonyms

rainy day

American  

noun

  1. a time of need or emergency.

    saving money for a rainy day.
rainy day British  

noun

  1. a future time of need, esp financial

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • rainy-day adjective

Etymology

Origin of rainy day

First recorded in 1570–80

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.

What if your guest wants to lounge in bed on a rainy day and wonders where all those cushions went?

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

It was a rainy day in May, and upon returning to the site with plastic sheets to protect freshly poured concrete, ICE had trespassed onto the development.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026

On a rainy day, she travelled with her son to meet the director and writer for an audition.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026

Buffett has long prided himself on maintaining a strong balance sheet with plenty saved up for a rainy day.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026

Her head turned left and right a hundred times a second and her index finger moved from side to side as fast as a windshield wiper on a rainy day.

From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez

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.