rainwater
noun
water fallen as rain.
rainwater
1 American
[reyn-waw-ter, -wot-er]
/ ˈreɪnˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /
noun
Rainwater
2
American
[reyn-waw-ter, -wot-er]
/ ˈreɪnˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /
noun
rainwater
British
/ ˈreɪnˌwɔːtə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of rainwater
before 1000; Middle English rein water, Old English regn-wæter; see 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.
See Examples For:
Even so, parts of northern Sputnik Planitia have been darkened in patterns that resemble features seen on terrestrial glaciers after they are exposed to rainwater or to liquid emerging from beneath the ice.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
BORDEAUX, France—For 700 years, Château Carbonnieux relied on rainwater to nourish its grapes, a tradition that preserved the vineyard’s connection to the local terroir.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The garden has boosted its capacity to harvest rainwater, but its stocks ran out several months ago.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Store your wheelbarrow inside your shed so rainwater can’t collect.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
It is almost filled with rainwater, the dark surface rippling in the breeze.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The study was funded by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation/Tau Consortium, the National Institutes of Health and other sources.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 3, 2026
Alumni from “Yellowstone” returning in “Marshals” include Gil Birmingham as tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater and Mo Brings Plenty as his confidante Mo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
Joseph Shaposhnik, portfolio manager of the Rainwater Equity ETF, substantially reduced his exposure to software names over the summer, including selling most of his position in Constellation Software Inc.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
Rainwater, ice and glacier meltwater accumulate in Suicide Basin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2025
“Hey, Will, where y’all goin’?” Mr. Tom Rainwater asked me.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
