rainbow
a bow or arc of prismatic colors appearing in the heavens opposite the sun and caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in drops of rain.: Compare primary rainbow, secondary rainbow.
a similar bow of colors, especially one appearing in the spray of a waterfall or fountain.
any brightly multicolored arrangement or display.
a wide variety or range; gamut.
a visionary goal: He pursued the rainbow of a singing career for years before becoming a success.
having a diverse membership; including representatives from different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, etc.: Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously described postapartheid South Africa as a rainbow nation.LGBTQ Pride month celebrates all of the rainbow community.Candidates are appealing to a rainbow coalition of minority voters.
Origin of rainbow
1Other words from rainbow
- rain·bow·y, rain·bow·like, adjective
Words Nearby rainbow
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use rainbow in a sentence
Following Szutowicz’s arrest, many protesters have been displaying rainbow flags across the city, and are subsequently being arrested for those actions.
Poland’s LGBTQ activists confront growing crackdown | Kaela Roeder | August 14, 2020 | Washington BladeAll the colors in the rainbow—and your t-shirt drawer, as it so happens.
Scientists Gene-Hack Cotton Plants to Make Them Every Color of the Rainbow | Jason Dorrier | August 11, 2020 | Singularity HubThey gave away over 200 hundreds of rainbow masks in each spot.
They Gave Away Rainbow Masks In “LGBT Free Zones” In Poland | LGBTQ-Editor | May 26, 2020 | No Straight NewsThat’s why, when you see a double rainbow, the secondary arc is much dimmer and its colors are flipped.
Explainer: Rainbows, fogbows and their eerie cousins | Matthew Cappucci | May 1, 2020 | Science News For StudentsI noticed when I went over to the chemistry department that a lot of the professors had stickers on their doors with a rainbow or triangle that said that they were LGBTQ allies.
Weight lifting is this planetary scientist’s pastime | Bryn Nelson | March 10, 2020 | Science News For Students
Meanwhile, big dollar advertising campaigns have taken an explicit rainbow-hued slant.
She is smiling, a pink-striped hat on her head and a mini rainbow lollipop sticking out of her mouth.
Even Grade School Kids Are Protesting the Garner Killing Now | Caitlin Dickson | December 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHere and there, sparingly, one of the dolls might be purple or green: “rainbow Piets,” they call them.
David Bowie, Ronnie Wood, and Marianne Faithfull were regulars at the rainbow Room, a restaurant on the fifth floor.
Because the marketing of the screening included a rainbow flag and said it was to be the kickoff of “LGBT Awareness Month.”
Catholic University’s Harvey Milk Ban Reflects A Church In Transition | Jay Michaelson | October 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDirectly after them came a lot of palace attendants in curious hats and long robes of all colours of the rainbow.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. PikeThe colours of the rainbow shone there in pale tints, and the flaring sunshine could not enter.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeThey glittered and shone with an intensity of colour which surpassed even those of the rainbow.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferNor did the future appear any more in a rainbow glory, since he realised that it would bring renunciation as well as joy.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste TchaikovskyAs the appearance of the rainbow when it is in a cloud on a rainy day: this was the appearance of the brightness round about.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
British Dictionary definitions for rainbow (1 of 2)
/ (ˈreɪnˌbəʊ) /
a bow-shaped display in the sky of the colours of the spectrum, caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays through rain or mist
any similar display of bright colours
(as modifier): a rainbow pattern
an illusory hope: to chase rainbows
(modifier) of or relating to a political grouping together by several minorities, esp of different races: the rainbow coalition
British Dictionary definitions for Rainbow (2 of 2)
/ (ˈreɪnˌbəʊ) /
a member of the Rainbow Guides, the youngest group of girls (aged 5-7 years) in The Guide Association
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for rainbow
[ rān′bō′ ]
An arc-shaped spectrum of color seen in the sky opposite the Sun, especially after rain, caused by the refraction and reflection of sunlight by droplets of water suspended in the air. Secondary rainbows that are larger and paler sometimes appear within the primary arc with the colors reversed (red being inside). These result from two reflections and refractions of a light ray inside a droplet.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for rainbow
The colored arch in the sky that is often seen after a rain. The rainbow is formed when water droplets in the air cause the diffraction of sunlight.
Notes for rainbow
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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