rainwater

noun

rain·wa·ter | \ ˈrān-ˌwȯ-tər

, -ˌwä-\

Definition of rainwater

(Entry 1 of 2)

: water fallen as rain that has not collected soluble matter from the soil and is therefore soft

Rainwater

biographical name

Rain·wa·ter | \ ˈrān-ˌwȯ-tər

, -ˌwä-\

Definition of Rainwater (Entry 2 of 2)

L(eo) James 1917–1986 American physicist

Examples of rainwater in a Sentence

Noun

a bucket filled with rainwater

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

They can be used as a tent, as ground cover, to catch rainwater, to patch holes, for a trap, and even to drag back heavy animals. — Jamie Lauren Keiles, Vox, "What doomsday preppers are buying this Black Friday," 21 Nov. 2018 Lake Harney — along with lakes Jesup and Monroe — are fed by the St. Johns River, which collects rainwater from as far south as Indian River County and flows northward. — Martin E. Comas, OrlandoSentinel.com, "East Seminole County residents keep nervous eye on rising St. Johns," 9 July 2018 Lane said there is another advantage to collecting rainwater. — John Tuohy, Indianapolis Star, "Hamilton County goes old-school green with rain barrels," 19 Apr. 2018 Syrian refugees standing in mud and rainwater at a refugee camp in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Thursday. — Nazih Osseiran, WSJ, "Syrian Refugees Suffer as Winter Storms Devastate Lebanese Camps," 11 Jan. 2019 Mopey and alone, Sam goes about his daily tasks such as washing in rainwater and soulfully playing the drums. — Jason Zinoman, New York Times, "Review: In ‘The Night Eats the World,’ Zombie Apocalypse Now, Again," 12 July 2018 Shifting to local sources of materials, like rainwater and compost, would drop the energy use dramatically, shifting the farms into territory that's typically considered sustainable. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Urban farms could be incredibly efficient—but aren’t yet," 27 Dec. 2018 The rainwater would have quickly run off over the surface, shaping the network of valleys. — Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com, "Geometry Helps Solve the Mystery of Mars' Water," 13 July 2018 Because water can't permeate plastic, rainwater won't soaking the planting bed. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "How to Mulch Your Garden and Stop Weeds in Their Tracks," 26 June 2018

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