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.
Rainfall has been sparse in Lesh’s region of the state.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
Rainfall totals were much higher in the mountains.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2025
Rainfall totals will build quite widely but with very saturated ground there are numerous yellow Met Office warnings in force.
From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025
Rainfall in the capital Tehran has been at its lowest level in a century, according to local officials, and half of Iran's provinces have not seen a drop of rain in months.
From Barron's • Nov. 16, 2025
Rainfall, at any time of the day or night, stopped all other business; for as long as it fell, I held up the rain catchers and was feverishly occupied storing their catch.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
