rain

1 of 2

noun

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

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. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Another wave of rain will affect the Gulf Coast states again on Saturday. Kathryn Prociv, NBC News, 1 Dec. 2023 In September, a powerful storm dumped torrential rain over the Mediterranean, rupturing two dams in Libya and killing thousands in the city of Derna. Jenny Gross, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023 Against the Storm is a dark fantasy strategy game where you’re tasked with rebuilding civilization in a world that faces apocalyptic rain. Erik Kain, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 Most of the area sees no more than a tenth of an inch of rain. David Streit, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2023 The canyon got 61 inches of rain this year, one of the wettest Cirone has seen. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2023 This, a little bit of rain in the jungle, is nothing. Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2023 But San Diego International Airport received only 8.18 inches of rain, about 1.60 inches below the seasonal average. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2023 Consider the rain as two opposite lands—two possible soundtracks for a sleepless, long week—the principle of uncertainty—the certitude of clarity—something in between. Stav Poleg, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023
Verb
This isn’t the first time a sugar shortage has rained on the sweet holiday parade. Christianna Silva, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Nov. 2023 See the pair of first-look photos below, which feature Homelander, who is backing vice presidential candidate Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) and her running-mate presidential candidate Robert Singer (Jim Beaver), standing stoic and triumphant while red, white and blue confetti rains down on him. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 8 Nov. 2023 That launch also damaged some of Starbase's infrastructure, blasting out a crater beneath the facility's orbital launch mount and sending chunks of concrete and other debris raining down on the surrounding area. Mike Wall, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023 Ash and debris — later found to contain asbestos — rained down. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023 So massive that rockets from Gaza continued to rain down on Israeli towns for weeks, and resistance continues. Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Debris from the rocket rained down over the Gulf of Mexico. Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2023 The livestock below deck were thrown about, and men had to cover their faces as mean, biting hogs rained down. Mike O’Brien, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2023 And then there are the Israeli airstrikes, thousands and thousands of them, which rain down day and night, from north to south, on Hamas tunnels and hideouts, but also on homes, schools and places of worship. Hajar Harb, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of rain was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near rain

Cite this Entry

“Rain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rain. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

rain

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: water falling in drops from clouds
b
: the falling of such water
2
a
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

More from Merriam-Webster on rain

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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