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rain out

Idioms  
  1. Force the cancellation or postponement of some event owing to bad weather. For example, Our picnic was rained out, but we hope to have it next week. [1920s]


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.

The family covered up the broken windows with bin bags to keep the wind and rain out during the height of the storm.

From BBC • Oct. 4, 2025

In addition, sand clouds high up in the atmosphere rain out.

From Science Daily • Nov. 15, 2023

“Any thunderstorms that form are very efficient rainers because they can really bring a lot of rain out of the atmosphere, especially when we’ve got this much moisture.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 18, 2022

But those hefty drops are more likely to rain out of clouds.

From New York Times • Aug. 12, 2022

He was still pacing when Sean came home from his shift, shaking the rain out of his hair.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby