precipitation

American  

[pri-sip-i-tey-shuhn] / prɪˌsɪp ɪˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

precipitations plural

1. the act of precipitating; state of being precipitated.

2. a casting down or falling headlong.

3. a hastening or hurrying in movement, procedure, or action.

4. sudden haste.

5. unwise or rash rapidity.

6. Meteorology.

   1. falling products of condensation in the atmosphere, as rain, snow, or hail.

   2. the amount of rain, snow, hail, etc., that has fallen at a given place within a given period, usually expressed in inches or centimeters of water.

7. Chemistry, Physics. the precipitating of a substance from a solution.

---

precipitation British  

/ prɪˌsɪpɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. meteorol

   1. rain, snow, sleet, dew, etc, formed by condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere

   2. the deposition of these on the earth's surface

   3. the amount precipitated

2. the production or formation of a chemical precipitate

3. the act of precipitating or the state of being precipitated

4. rash or undue haste

5. spiritualism the appearance of a spirit in bodily form; materialization

---

precipitation Scientific  

/ prĭ-sĭp′ĭ-tā′shən /

1. A form of water, such as rain, snow, or sleet, that condenses from the atmosphere, becomes too heavy to remain suspended, and falls to the Earth's surface. Different atmospheric conditions are responsible for the different forms of precipitation.

2. The process by which a substance is separated out of a solution as a solid. Precipitation occurs either by the action of gravity or through a chemical reaction that forms an insoluble compound out of two or more soluble compounds.

---

precipitation Cultural  

1. In meteorology, the fall of water, ice, or snow deposited on the surface of the Earth from the atmosphere. In chemistry, a chemical reaction in a solution in which a solid material is formed and subsequently falls, as a precipitate, to the bottom of the container.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprecipitation
  noun
• self-precipitation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• precipitations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of precipitation

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin praecipitātiōn-, stem of praecipitātiō “a casting down headlong,” equivalent to praecipitāt(us) “cast down headlong” (past participle of praecipitāre see precipitate) + -iō -ion

Explanation

Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail — any kind of weather condition where something's falling from the sky. Precipitation has to do with things falling down, and not just from the sky. It's also what happens in chemical reactions when a solid settles to the bottom of a solution. If you have hard water where you live, you might find lime deposits — a flaky white crust — on your faucets and showerhead. That's caused by precipitation of the minerals in the water. The minerals settle out — they precipitate — and clog the pipes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

precipitation precipitations

The datasets, gathered over decades, contain vital information about Earth systems, including greenhouse gases, clouds, precipitation and ice sheets.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Most are in northern Ontario and Quebec, where it has been hot and dry, as well as the Northwest Territories, which is experiencing a drought and received less than 40% of normal precipitation in June.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Drought is a lack of precipitation, whereas water scarcity is about a mismatch between water supply and demand - so it is not just about the weather.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

The “strong” El Niño of winter 2023-24 saw well-above average rainfall across coastal Southern California and slightly above-normal precipitation in coastal Northern California, the state Department of Conservation said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

To begin with, not all of the ‘Amazonian rainforest” is rainy—parts of it receive little more precipitation per year than New York City.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

It looked at both extreme events and low-onset climate change, including coastal erosion, marine flooding, sea-level rise and extremes, soil and groundwater salinization, inland flooding resulting from heavy precipitations, and permafrost thaw.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2023

They obtained a ton of pitchblende from the Austrian Government, began a long series of crushings, pulverizations, leachings, precipitations, crystallizations with apparatus at which a modern physicist would sneer.

From Time Magazine Archive

The roof constructed of these waterproof paper sheets proved itself to be a durable covering, being unimpenetrable to atmospheric precipitations, and soon several factories commenced manufacturing the paper.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 821, September 26, 1891 by Various

The normal mean precipitations are about 11.7, 14.5, 10.5 and 10.2 in. for the same seasons.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5 "Arculf" to "Armour, Philip" by Various

Evaporation of the solvent is avoided, and in consequence a freedom from vexatious precipitations is secured, and more uniform and reliable results are obtained.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 417, December 29, 1883 by Various

Related Words

• drizzle
• rain
• rainfall
• rainstorm
• sleet
• snow
• storm