rain
Americannoun
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rains
plural
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water that is condensed from the aqueous vapor in the atmosphere and falls to earth in drops more than 0.02 inch (0.5 millimeters) in diameter.
-
a rainfall, rainstorm, or shower.
We had a light rain this afternoon.
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rains, the rainy season; seasonal rainfall, as in India.
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weather marked by steady or frequent rainfall.
We had rain most of last summer.
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a heavy and continuous descent or inflicting of anything.
a rain of blows; a rain of vituperation.
verb (used without object)
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rains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rained,
past participle, past
-
raining
present participle
-
(of rain) to fall (usually used impersonally with it as subject).
It rained all night.
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to fall like rain.
Tears rained from their eyes.
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to send down rain.
The lightning flashed and the sky rained on us in torrents.
verb (used with object)
-
rains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rained,
past participle, past
-
raining
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
noun
-
-
precipitation from clouds in the form of drops of water, formed by the condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere
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a fall of rain; shower
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( in combination )
a raindrop
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-
a large quantity of anything falling rapidly or in quick succession
a rain of abuse
-
-
regardless of the weather
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regardless of circumstances
-
-
informal perfectly all right; perfectly fit
verb
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(intr; with it as subject) to be the case that rain is falling
-
to fall or cause to fall like rain
the lid flew off and popcorn rained on everyone
-
(tr) to bestow in large measure
to rain abuse on someone
-
informal to rain heavily; pour
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cancelled or postponed on account of rain
-
Water that condenses from water vapor in the atmosphere and falls to Earth as separate drops from clouds. Rain forms primarily in three ways: at weather fronts, when the water vapor in the warmer mass of air cools and condenses; along mountain ranges, when a warm mass of air is forced to rise over a mountain and its water vapor cools and condenses; and by convection in hot climates, when the water vapor in suddenly rising masses of warm air cools and condenses.
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See also hydrologic cycle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rainsimple
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rainssimple
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have rainedperfect
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has rainedperfect
-
am rainingprogressive
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are rainingprogressive
-
is rainingprogressive
-
have been rainingperfect progressive
-
has been rainingperfect progressive
Past
-
rainedsimple
-
had rainedperfect
-
was rainingprogressive
-
were rainingprogressive
-
had been rainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rain
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English rein; Old English regn, rēn, cognate with Dutch, German regen, Old Norse regn, Gothic rign; (verb) Middle English reinen, Old English regnian
Explanation
Rain is what makes you go running for your umbrella. It's that water that comes down from sky when the dark clouds roll in. You can also use rain as a verb — as in the expression "Don't rain on my parade," which means don't ruin my good time by giving me bad news. You can also describe anything that comes down quickly and in quantity as something that rains down. On New Year's Eve, confetti rains down in Times Square. If you're unfortunate enough to find yourself in a war zone, you might hear bombs raining down around you.
Vocabulary lists containing rain
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - 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:
“Not a drop of rain had fallen,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Scotland and Northern Ireland will stay showery through much of the day, with some longer spells of rain across northeast Scotland and the Northern Isles.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Most of the rain that does eventually fall will be absorbed by the parched ground before it can replenish rivers, exacerbating the problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Much-needed rain brought some respite Monday to firefighters on their fourth day battling Belgium's worst wildfire in a century, which has scorched vast expanses of nature reserve on the German border.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Leeuwenhoek took a single drop of water from a rain barrel and turned his microscope on it.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Dr Kevin Collins, senior lecturer in environment and systems at The Open University, says even when autumn rains arrive, people often assume the drought is over.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
This is due to heavy rains in Chile that temporarily halted mining.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Epic rains triggered landslides that closed Highway 1 into the famed coastal enclave for three years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
This "weighs down the droplets," which "grow from a few micrometres to several millimetres: up to two or three. They fall, and it rains," explained Yarmohammed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
When they reached the river, Clare realized he’d forgotten to account for the recent heavy rains.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Time had punctured the roof with 20 holes and whenever it rained, Baker would run around placing buckets under them and emptying them when they were full, like a game of Whac-A-Mole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
"It rained a lot this winter; the pastures were very overgrown," Rodriguez said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
It never rained, but they used it anyway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
People reported specks of black oil rained down on the streets after the attack, which also saw columns of thick smoke going into the sky.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Sunflower seeds rained down on my shoulders, their rough stems snapping underfoot and scratching my exposed skin.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
It was raining, and there were no customers.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
"I love it under here, when it's raining you can walk to the shops without getting your hair wet."
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
"It sounds like it's raining, which is a sound I don't mind too much," Bianco said.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
If my internet research is correct, it was raining on your 2006 graduation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
It’s raining, so I can’t tell them that I want to go for a walk.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
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.
