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Rainwater

1 American  
[reyn-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈreɪnˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

  1. (Leo) James, 1917–86, U.S. physicist: Nobel Prize 1975.

rainwater 2 American  
[reyn-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈreɪnˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

  1. water fallen as rain.

rainwater British  
/ ˈreɪnˌwɔːtə /

noun

  1. water from rain (as distinguished from spring water, tap water, etc)

"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

Etymology

Origin of rainwater

before 1000; Middle English rein water, Old English regn-wæter; rain, water

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.

Water to fight fires from a pool or from rainwater stored in tanks or a cistern.

From Los Angeles Times

Prof Cloke said the government needed to invest in "catchment management" schemes that limit the speed of rainwater entering river systems.

From BBC

They all depend upon clean, unpolluted water channeled from the rainwater running through that territory into the rivers and streams.

From Literature

There are fears that diseases could spread as rainwater has mixed with sewage water.

From BBC

"Here, we just watch the mushrooms grow -- with help from recycled rainwater and machines that speed up production."

From Barron's

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.