rain

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

see also:

rain cats and dogs

Synonyms of rain

• pour
• storm
• flood
• precipitate

Examples of rain in a Sentence

Sparks from the fireworks rained on the field.

The volcano rained ashes on the city.

Recent Examples on the Web

Suddenly, Brooks began raining down blows on Sumner with a gutta-percha cane while an accomplice warded off lawmakers who tried to intervene. —Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026

Once again, Let’s Go Knicks chants rained down from the stands, the Frost Bank Center soundboard operator attempting to drown the chants out by increasing the volume of the in-arena music. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026

As gold confetti rained from the ceiling, Lai jumped up and down with excitement while Cowell joined her onstage for a hug. —Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026

The performance was temporarily interrupted due to rain, but the dancers didn't let a little rain stop them from putting on a show. —Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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