rain

noun, often attributive

\ ˈrān

Definition of rain

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : water falling in drops condensed from vapor in the atmosphere

b : the descent of this water

c : water that has fallen as rain : rainwater

2a : a fall of rain : rainstorm

b rains plural : the rainy season

3 : rainy weather

4 : a heavy fall a rain of arrows

rain

verb

rained; raining; rains

Definition of rain (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to send down rain

2 : to fall as water in drops from the clouds

3 : to fall like rain soot and ash rained down

transitive verb

1 : to pour down

2 : to give or administer abundantly rained blows on his head

rain cats and dogs

: to rain heavily

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about rain

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Examples of rain in a Sentence

Noun

The weatherman forecasts rain for this afternoon. Everyone went inside when the rain began to fall. What the garden needs is a good, soaking rain. A light rain began to fall. There has been some flooding due to the recent heavy rains. We've had a week of rain. The rains came and flooded the valley.

Verb

Sparks from the fireworks rained on the field. The volcano rained ashes on the city.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The number is the lowest in at least 10 years of record-keeping and is attributable in part, officials say, to soaking rains finally... — Jim Carlton, WSJ, "California Could See Fewer Wildfires Thanks to Wet Winter," 8 Apr. 2019 Their special design lets rain trickle in while everything else simply glides right over them and falls to the ground below. — The Good Housekeeping Institute, Good Housekeeping, "GH Seal Spotlight: Englert Leafguard Gutters," 5 Apr. 2019 After that, keep these three things in mind: Water: Pick a place with adequate drainage in case rain starts to fall. — Kraig Becker, Popular Mechanics, "How to Set Up Camp," 2 Apr. 2019 Flash floods following huge rain storms also struck other parts of the country. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "What we learned from the disasters that hammered the US in 2018," 27 Dec. 2018 The streets were rain-slicked and icy, but in Marunouchi, safely in the US zone of Tokyo, that was no deterrent. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Two unlikely cops are paired up to solve murders in a war-torn Tokyo in Ninth Step Station," 8 Dec. 2018 Intelligent audio filtering Trying to hold a video or audio call through wind and rain can make communication impossible. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Watch the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855's best new features in action," 6 Dec. 2018 Unseasonable rains deluged Peru’s northern coast in 2017. — Barbara Fraser, Discover Magazine, "Understanding the Amazon By Digging Into the Ground Beneath It," 28 Sep. 2018 There will also be a mix of rain and snow moving through the upper Mississippi Valley into Thursday night. — Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "A Bomb Cyclone Will Slam 70 Million People Across the U.S. Because Winter Just Won't Quit," 13 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

That final, of course, was marred by controversy, as an argument between Serena Williams and the umpire, Carlos Ramos, ended in an ugly scene: Osaka in tears during the trophy ceremony as the crowd, firmly on Serena’s side, rained boos upon her. — Louisa Thomas, Vogue, "The New Number One: Naomi Osaka Is Playing to Win," 21 Mar. 2019 That happens, in part, due to a fundamental change in the monsoon rains around the Indian Ocean, forcing them to shift westward. — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, "Mad scientists flip the Earth’s spin in climate models, watch water go nuts," 17 Oct. 2018 India is likely to receive average monsoon rains this year, the IMD said in a statement. — Manveena Suri, CNN, "Pre-monsoon showers leave 48 dead in northern India," 29 May 2018 Nearly half of the 316 parking spaces in the north lot were destroyed in a place already thin on parking, and rain forecast for later this week could take out even more. — Lizzie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Stinson Beach parking lot still crumbling after storm — and fix is uncertain," 10 Apr. 2018 Wood chips, dust, splinters, and dirt rained down on me. — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, "The Best Coveralls and How to Buy Them," 19 Nov. 2018 But then fans learned that many of the musicians were repeat performers from previous years, and the criticism rained down on social media. — Samantha West, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Eaux Claires recap: The best and worst of the indie festival in its 4th year," 8 July 2018 England rained them down on Panama in a 6-1 victory highlighted by Harry Kane’s hat trick. — Grant Wahl, SI.com, "Colombia Dazzles Us Again, England Overwhelms in Big World Cup Wins," 24 June 2018 It's been a long road for Melanson, starting on that night of terror when a man rained gunfire down on thousands of concertgoers from 32nd-floor windows of a Las Vegas hotel and casino. — Jason Hanna, CNN, "Las Vegas shooting survivor stayed months in hospital. She's finally been reunited with her rescuer," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.