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.
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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)
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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
-
-
a large quantity of anything falling rapidly or in quick succession
a rain of abuse
-
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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
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informal to rain heavily; pour
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cancelled or postponed on account of rain
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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
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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:
While Scotland and other western areas have seen frequent Atlantic weather systems bearing rain and wind, much of central, southern and eastern England has remained largely dry with plenty of sunshine.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
At Achnagart in the Highlands, rain has been recorded every day for the past 27 days.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
A vast area of low pressure in the Atlantic is set to draw warm south to south-easterly winds across the UK early this week, but for some rain will not be far behind.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
More rain was forecast throughout Sunday for Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, but would begin to taper off on Monday, it said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
His head still heavily bandaged, Phineas is roaming about Cavendish in the rain with no coat and thin shoes.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
"It rains less, the wet season ends earlier and the autumn starts much later."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The tribes also have worked together after rains to orchestrate rescue missions for chi that are trapped in puddles, offshoots and agricultural ditches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Then, when it rains — like it did this year — the mud can become thick and ankle-deep.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
"They'll keep burning until the rains come in October or November."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
Our cabin is always smoky—it doesn’t even have any windows—and it has begun to leak in heavy rains, but it is still a lot better than a rotting tent.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
At Achnagart in Highland, it has rained for the past 27 days.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
It means going places you may never have wanted to go, sometimes at the worst times of year, with no guarantee that the spectacle won’t be rained out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
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
I had known from childhood that the earth opened and the heavens rained fire upon liars, but I met his gaze.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
"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
All of this would happen because the financial professional had read the midyear reports raining down from major financial institutions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Even though it was raining over there at the time, it was still a lot of fun.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
The beast roars again, sending dirt raining down on us.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
