rainmaker

[ reyn-mey-ker ]

/ ˈreɪnˌmeɪ kər /

noun

(among American Indians) a medicine man who by various rituals and incantations seeks to cause rain.

a person who induces rainfall by using various scientific techniques, as the seeding of clouds with silver iodide crystals from an airplane.

Slang. an executive or lawyer with exceptional ability to attract clients, use political connections, increase profits, etc.: The president has several rainmakers among his advisers.

Nearby words

rainfall, rainforest, rainier, rainier iii, raining cats and dogs, rainmaker, rainout, rainproof, rains, rainspout, rainsquall

Origin of rainmaker

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75; rain + maker

Related forms

rain·mak·ing, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rainmaker

The Rainmaker, John Grisham April 1, 1995 The Rainmaker, John Grisham's sixth novel, took the summer of 1995 by storm.
Back to the '90s|Isabel Wilkinson|August 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The rainmaker sent up his vain, his fatuous, foolish, infinitesimal breath of smoke.
Trail's End|George W. Ogden
The last of the correspondents left on the evening of the day that Judge Thayer set the rainmaker to work.
Trail's End|George W. Ogden
But the wind was against the rainmaker; nature conspired to mock him before men as the quack that he was.
Trail's End|George W. Ogden

For all this, interest in the rainmaker's efforts did not lax.
Trail's End|George W. Ogden
The town knew all about the rainmaker at work behind the shielding rows of tall corn in Judge Thayer's garden.
Trail's End|George W. Ogden

British Dictionary definitions for rainmaker

rainmaker

/ (ˈreɪnˌmeɪkə) /

noun

(among Native Americans) a professional practitioner of ritual incantations or other actions intended to cause rain to fall

informal, mainly US an influential employee who creates a great deal of business or revenue for his or her firm

Derived Forms

rainmaking, noun

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