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:
The one-day rainfall record in California, and the fourth highest ever in the nation, landed in the San Gabriels on Jan. 22, 1943, a couple of miles southeast of Mt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Connections between ocean basins can help scientists anticipate shifts in rainfall and other major climate patterns.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Over recent weeks the Bangor team has been racing to collect soil samples at several sites across Wales before heavy winter rainfall washes away the remains.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
This connection helps shape broad patterns of rainfall, temperature, and atmospheric circulation across the tropics.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Like the rest of the Philippines, it has a tropical climate, which brings high temperatures, humidity, and plenty of rainfall.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
But sustained rainfall is needed over months rather than a few heavy rainfalls.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Most notably, in May 2017, some 6 million cubic yards of earth moved after torrential rainfalls, adding 15 acres of coastline.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2024
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
The rainy season in Sierra Leone falls between May and October, with the heaviest rainfalls in July, August, and September.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
