rain

American  

[rayn] / reɪn /

noun

• rains
  plural

1. 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.

2. a rainfall, rainstorm, or shower.

   We had a light rain this afternoon.

3. rains, the rainy season; seasonal rainfall, as in India.

4. weather marked by steady or frequent rainfall.

   We had rain most of last summer.

5. a heavy and continuous descent or inflicting of anything.

   a rain of blows; a rain of vituperation.

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verb (used without object)

• rains,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rained,
  past participle,  past
• raining
  present participle

1. (of rain) to fall (usually used impersonally with it as subject).

   It rained all night.

2. to fall like rain.

   Tears rained from their eyes.

3. 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

1. to send down in great quantities, as small pieces or objects.

   People on rooftops rained confetti on the parade.

2. to offer, bestow, or give in great quantity.

   to rain favors upon a person.

   Synonyms:

   pour, shower, lavish

3. to deal, hurl, fire, etc., repeatedly.

   to rain blows on someone's head.

verb phrase

1. rain out to cause, by raining, the cancellation or postponement of a sports event, performance, or the like.

   The double-header was rained out yesterday.

idioms

1. rain cats and dogs, to rain very heavily or steadily.

   We canceled our picnic because it rained cats and dogs.

rain British  

/ reɪn /

noun

1. 1. precipitation from clouds in the form of drops of water, formed by the condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere

   2. a fall of rain; shower

   3. ( in combination )

      a raindrop

2. a large quantity of anything falling rapidly or in quick succession

   a rain of abuse

3. 1. regardless of the weather

   2. regardless of circumstances

4. informal perfectly all right; perfectly fit

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verb

1. (intr; with it as subject) to be the case that rain is falling

2. to fall or cause to fall like rain

   the lid flew off and popcorn rained on everyone

3. (tr) to bestow in large measure

   to rain abuse on someone

4. informal to rain heavily; pour

5. cancelled or postponed on account of rain

rain Scientific  

/ rān /

1. 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.

2. See also hydrologic cycle

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rain More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rain

• come in out of the rain
• it never rains but it pours
• right as rain

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rainlessness
  noun
• rainless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rains
  plural

Participles

• raining
  present
• rained
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rain
  simple
• rains
  simple
• have rained
  perfect
• has rained
  perfect
• am raining
  progressive
• are raining
  progressive
• is raining
  progressive
• have been raining
  perfect progressive
• has been raining
  perfect progressive

Past

• rained
  simple
• had rained
  perfect
• was raining
  progressive
• were raining
  progressive
• had been raining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rain
  simple
• will have rained
  perfect
• will be raining
  progressive
• will have been raining
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rain rains rained raining

The programme includes meetings with cricketing legends in Antigua and Barbuda, where the West Indies team is based, and meeting conservationists responsible for Guyana's rain forest.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

But this year, it was extremely warm and the surrounding mountains got mostly rain and almost no snow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

In 2019, about 25 homes were evacuated in the village following flooding and a power cut after heavy rain.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Its three dimensional structure creates a barrier that keeps insects from reaching the plants, while the layered material still allows sunlight, rain, and air to pass through.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

At the edge of the rain forest was a wide rock pool with a waterfall tumbling into it, and on the other side of the pool was the garden.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Los Angeles officials are bracing for more trouble if the forecast “super” El Niño brings heavy rains and flooding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Environmental and fishing advocates say they’re hoping the seasonal rains come soon to refill the river and allow the fish to reach the creeks where they can lay their eggs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Bangkok was declared a disaster-affected zone after continuous heavy rains caused widespread flooding in the Thai capital.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

The city is built on former marshlands and is intersected by a network of canals, many of them heavily flooded by the rains.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

“For the earth is parched to dust and all that I grew is dead. The rains failed, as you know.”

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

At Achnagart in Highland, it has rained for the past 27 days.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

It hadn’t rained for 61 consecutive days—beating the previous record of 36 days set in 1976.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Unfortunately, it rained and rained and Angel Stadium became a soggy field more suitable for ducks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

The Boston Red Sox remained one win shy of matching their team-record longest win streak, set in 1946, after their Major League Baseball game against Baltimore was rained out on Tuesday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

"I can't say I've played any this year. I've tried to get away, but Sundays it's always rained, and the courts are so damned crowded."

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

"The problem here is simply that it has been raining far, far, far too little for months," Puls told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

"She said it was rather warm, it was raining sometimes."

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

It was raining, and there were no customers.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

You have to schlep around while it’s raining, snowing or just hot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

“It’s raining to beat the band...perfect marbles weather!”

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

Related Words

• deluge
• drizzle
• flood
• hail
• mist
• monsoon
• precipitation
• rainfall
• rainstorm
• shower
• showers
• sleet
• stream
• torrent