(in the Bible) the first son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel.
a murderer.
the first son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:1–16)
to cause a commotion
to react or protest heatedly
Middle English ( Scots ) cane, from Scots Gaelic; compare Old Irish cáin “statute, law, rent”
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yo' see I ham 't been used t' hit down whar I lived an' I cain 't feel comfortable with a lot of machinery so close to me.
From The Boy Scout Fire Fighters by Crump, Irving
Cain, Kain, kān, n. in old Scots law, rent paid in kind, esp. in poultry, &c.—To pay the cain, to pay the penalty.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
If she were here, and I went on raising cain like I been doing, she'd have a fit.
From Babbitt by Lewis, Sinclair
The modern woman has learned that it is a club that raises cain.
From Model Speeches for Practise by Kleiser, Grenville
We nearly had him, but he deserted and got across the line, and since then he has been raising all kinds of cain in government affairs.
From The Thunder Bird by Bower, B. M.
At one event, in which Oz was interviewed by Dean Cain, an actor who played Superman in a 1990s television show, about 50 people listened in as Oz droned on about an anti-fraud task force.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
Veda’s story unfolds in “Mildred Pierce,” the classic James M. Cain novel and 1945 Joan Crawford film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Half of college graduates in New York City are either foreign born or come from immigrant households,” Miller told Fox’s Will Cain.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
An adaptation of the 1941 novel by James M. Cain, directed by Michael Curtiz, the film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture, with Crawford winning for her lead performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
“Good,” Cain panted, pressing her staff so hard that his blade sank into the wood.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
