rain

1 of 2

noun

ˈrān 

often attributive

1

a

: water falling in drops condensed from vapor in the atmosphere

b

: the descent of this water

c

: water that has fallen as rain : rainwater

2

a

: a fall of rain : rainstorm

b

rains plural : the rainy season

3

: rainy weather

4

: a heavy fall

a rain of arrows

rain

2 of 2

verb

rained; raining; rains

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

Phrases

rain cats and dogs

: to rain heavily

Synonyms of rain

Noun

• rainfall
• storm
• downpour
• rainstorm
• thunderstorm

Verb

• pour
• storm
• flood
• precipitate

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

In Thailand, Songkhla province has recorded the bulk of fatalities; the city of Hat Yai saw 335 mm (13 inches) of rain in a day, its heaviest daily rainfall in 300 years. —MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025

That weather — sheeting rain and biting cold — hadn’t looked so ideal seven minutes in when Nordi Mukiele slipped. —Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

Verb

Moore couldn’t believe it, nor could any of his teammates, coaches or the thousands of Colts fans in attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium who rained boos on the referees (who also appeared to miss a delay of game penalty on Houston before the snap). —James Boyd, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

Many areas from the I-95 corridor to the north and west will see snow arrive early Tuesday with a gradual transition to rain through midday. —Andrew Kozak, CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English reyn, from Old English regn, rēn; akin to Old High German regan rain

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing rain

• acid rain
• (as) right as rain
• come rain or (come) shine
• freezing rain
• golden rain tree
• it looks like rain
• pouring rain
• rain blows/punches on
• rain cats and dogs
• rain check
• rain date
• rain forest
• rain gauge
• rain on someone's parade
• rain or shine
• rain out
• rain shadow
• rain squall
• rain tree
• teem with rain
• temperate rain forest
• tropical rain forest
• yellow rain

Rhymes for rain

• ane
• bane
• blain
• brain
• cane
• chaine
• cheyne
• deign
• drain
• fain
• fane
• feign

Kids Definition

rain

1 of 2 noun

ˈrān 

1

a

: water falling in drops from clouds

b

: the falling of such water

2

a

: rainstorm

b

plural : the rainy season

3

: rainy weather

a week of rain

4

: a heavy fall

a rain of arrows

rainless

-ləs

adjective

rain

2 of 2 verb

1

: to fall as water in drops from the clouds

2

: to send down rain

3

: to fall like rain

ashes rained from the volcano

4

: to give in large amounts

rained blows on each other