downpour
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of downpour
Explanation
A downpour is a rainstorm, especially a very heavy one. If you get caught unexpectedly in a downpour, you'll wish you brought an umbrella. A downpour is exactly what it sounds like: torrential, pouring rain. A downpour, even one that's brief, can cause flooding in streets and basements. In some parts of the world, there are whole seasons that regularly bring downpours, while other places experience droughts so severe that people wish for a downpour. The word has been in use since the mid-19th century.
Vocabulary lists containing downpour
Water Hazard: Words for Too Much Moisture
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Raining Cats and Dogs
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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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.
The downpour didn't seem to dampen fans' spirits, either.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Each time a downpour begins, Scott strips down to the waist, grabs a large glass jug, and runs out to one of three drainpipes to collect enough water to last the week.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Instead, Lovett was calf-deep in sludgy rain water flooding the streets from a sudden downpour, standing at the roll-gate of a ripped-apart warehouse.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
As the skies changed from intense heat to a sudden downpour in the afternoon, only 11 riders emerged to weather the conditions.
From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026
We walked into the thickest forest and tried to escape the downpour by standing under big trees, but it rained to the point where the leaves couldn’t hold off the water anymore.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
