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:
Low pressure which has recently brought rainfall to Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England will will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday and into Wednesday.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
The last three months all saw below average monthly rainfall.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
"Ultimately, our goal is to improve the physical understanding and prediction of aerosol effects on deep convection, rainfall, lightning, and climate," said Rosenfeld.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
The El Nino weather pattern warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, triggering worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall patterns, and pushing warmer overall global temperatures.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Each night he gave memories to Gabriel: memories of boat rides and picnics in the sun; memories of soft rainfall against windowpanes; memories of dancing barefoot on a damp lawn.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
Extreme rainfalls during the ongoing monsoon season are a major source of floods in several parts of India.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025
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
“So if the rainfalls are spread out in a way that sustains plant growth, you can see some very significant population increases.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 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
It is our second month in Anlungthmor and we are amid one of the worst rainfalls ever.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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.
