rain check

noun

Definition of rain check

1 : a ticket stub good for a later performance when the scheduled one is rained out

2 : an assurance of a deferred extension of an offer especially : a document assuring that a customer can take advantage of a sale later if the item or service offered is not available (as by being sold out)

Examples of rain check in a Sentence

The store offered rain checks when the sale items had all sold.

Recent Examples on the Web

And fans who had tickets to Monday night’s game have little time to rearrange plans to use their rain checks to get to the front end of the day-night double header. — Tim Bannon, chicagotribune.com, "Cubs offer Dodgers game ticket swap — and work to restore power at Wrigley Field," 19 June 2018 On a day in which the rain held off at Kauffman Stadium as the Tigers fell to the Kansas City Royals, 10-6, another Tiger had to take a rain check on finishing the game. — Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Miguel Cabrera the latest Detroit Tiger to be injured," 3 May 2018 Theater employees met people in the parking lot and handed out rain check vouchers while the firefighters inspected the building, Hennessey said. — Molly Sullivan, sacbee, "Elk Grove movie theater evacuated," 21 Jan. 2018

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

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Last Updated

6 Feb 2019

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Time Traveler for rain check

The first known use of rain check was in 1884

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More Definitions for rain check

rain check

noun

Financial Definition of rain check

What It Is

A rain check is a written promise from a seller to a buyer. It guarantees that a buyer can purchase a product for a certain price at a later date, usually because the item is out of stock.

How It Works

Let's say the chocolate chips are on sale for $2 a bag at Walgreens this week. John Doe goes to Walgreens for the deal and finds the shelves bare, thanks to some extreme couponers. He asks the store for a rain check, which issues him a slip of paper allowing him to buy up to five bags of chocolate chips for $2 each any time in the next two weeks. John waits a week and comes back for the chips.

Why It Matters

Rain checks keep customers from defecting to the competition. Some states require stores to make good on their advertised offers by providing rain checks, because when a store advertises an item on sale, it is expected to have that item in stock. If rain checks didn't exist, stores could run ads for cheap items and never have to honor the offers. (Unfortunately, this rule often doesn't apply to auto dealers.) In some cases, vendors must print the words "No Rain Checks" in their advertisements if the stock is truly limited, putting customers on notice.

Source: Investing Answers

rain check

noun

English Language Learners Definition of rain check

: a ticket given to people so that they can go to another event (such as a baseball game) if the one they were watching or planning to go to is canceled or stopped because of rain

: a promise to allow someone to buy or do something in the future because it is not possible to buy or do it now

See the full definition for rain check in the English Language Learners Dictionary