adjective
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characterized by a large rainfall
a rainy climate
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wet or showery; bearing rain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of rainy
before 1000; Middle English reyny, Old English rēnig. See rain, -y 1
Explanation
Rainy things are affected by rain in some way, like rainy weather or a rainy afternoon. You can describe certain places as rainy, like Mt. Waialeale on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, or Mawsynram in India, both of which are often cited as being the most rainy place on earth. The phrase "a rainy day" uses rainy figuratively, to represent possible future bad luck or hard times: "You should always save some of your salary in case of a rainy day."
Vocabulary lists containing rainy
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:
“Treasury is not going to utilize its entire rainy day fund to fund its buyback program. This is not exactly Draghi-esque, a do-whatever-it-takes moment. This is not Ben Bernanke’s bazooka,” Brusuelas said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
But paying a dividend, reducing debt or building up cash for a rainy day can be better choices sometimes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Landslides are a recurring hazard in Ethiopia during the country's main rainy season, which typically runs from June to August.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
He flew in from Sydney on Thursday, leaving a rainy Australian winter for a California heat wave.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
It appeared again with the onset of the rainy season but only flowed properly at its peak.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
"When you get hot spells, they're that much hotter. And when you get rainy spells, they're that much rainier," he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
It's possible there were more hostile places on earth on Wednesday evening than Pittodrie; windier, rainier, colder, noisier.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2024
Actually, at least some production would probably shift to rainier parts of the country, climate experts say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2023
Santa Cruz has long been far rainier than its neighboring counties, mostly because of its topography, said Jan Null, a veteran meteorologist and former lead forecaster for the National Weather Service.
From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2023
It is a choice town, and we made satisfactory use of the hour allowed us, in roaming it over, though the weather was rainier than necessary.
From Life on the Mississippi, Part 12. by Mark Twain
Local officials say this has been the rainiest February in the history of Juiz de Fora, with the current rainfall in the region already more than double the amount expected for the month.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Modern record keeping began in 1877, and the record for the rainiest February was in 1998, when an incredible 13.68 inches of rain fell on downtown L.A., part of a memorable El Niño winter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
Though Pu’u Kukui, the highest peak in the West Maui Mountains, remains one of the rainiest locations on the planet, the once-flourishing mid-elevation hillsides are droughted and eroding.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2023
As mayor, he has been particularly vocal about the dearth of drinking water in Kathmandu — one of the world’s rainiest capitals — but where most people rely on trucked-in water.
From New York Times ● May 12, 2023
Sometimes, on spring days, there will be the brightest, warmest sun and the darkest, rainiest clouds sharing the sky.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
