downpour
Americannoun
-
downpours
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of downpour
Explanation
A downpour is a rainstorm, especially a very heavy one. If you get caught unexpectedly in a downpour, you'll wish you brought an umbrella. A downpour is exactly what it sounds like: torrential, pouring rain. A downpour, even one that's brief, can cause flooding in streets and basements. In some parts of the world, there are whole seasons that regularly bring downpours, while other places experience droughts so severe that people wish for a downpour. The word has been in use since the mid-19th century.
Vocabulary lists containing downpour
Water Hazard: Words for Too Much Moisture
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Raining Cats and Dogs
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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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:
What makes things even more difficult is that it’s impossible, as of now, to pinpoint the exact time and location of a downpour, even though it can be gauged with marvelous accuracy.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
He’s made it inside just in time to escape the rain, droplets from the downpour still visible on his white T-shirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Floods, landslides and accidents driven by a nine-day downpour equivalent to more than a month's worth of rain in some areas have killed at least 13 people in the northern Philippines, rescuers said Monday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The downpour cascaded into subway stations and flooded city streets in parts of New York and the Tri-State area, which also includes Connecticut, while some drivers abandoned their vehicles in rising water.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
The downpour pursued them to the coast, where they pitched the tent that night, and persisted through the whole week, through sodden landscapes that Harry found bleak and depressing.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
The downpours will drift southwards and eastwards during the day, affecting other parts of Wales, the Midlands, East Anglia and southern England.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
On Thursday, the focus of heavy, slow-moving and potentially thundery downpours will shift south, with the greatest chance of significant rainfall across parts of northern England, the Midlands, Lincolnshire, East Anglia and perhaps south-east England.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Unstable air underneath the low has allowed big storm clouds to develop, capable of delivering torrential downpours accompanied by hail and thunder.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The torrential downpours late Thursday triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Between downpours, he did a little skeet shooting at the rifle range.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
