rainwater

noun

rain·​wa·​ter ˈrān-ˌwȯ-tər How to pronounce rainwater (audio)
-ˌwä-
: water fallen as rain that has not collected soluble matter from the soil and is therefore soft

Examples of rainwater in a Sentence

a bucket filled with rainwater
Recent Examples on the Web Inside, a trash can collected dripping rainwater from a leak in the roof. Meg Bernhard, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2023 Before getting running water, those residents had to haul water from the river or laundry to their home or collect rainwater. Mark Thiessen and Tom Brenner, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Sep. 2023 Collecting rainwater for your garden is easy with these rain barrels. Andrea Wurzburger, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2023 Even a single southern magnolia leaf sitting on the ground can catch plenty of rainwater to allow a mama mosquito to fill your yard with a healthy gang of offspring. Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 14 July 2023 Two men shook out the rainwater that had pooled inside their tent at the sprawling homeless encampment along Anchorage’s Third Avenue on Tuesday afternoon. Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Sep. 2023 Huss said rainwater is best, followed by spring water. Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 1 Sep. 2023 Over millions of years, rainwater percolates through lithium-containing rocks, dissolves the metal, and carries it to underground aquifers. Rahul Rao, Popular Science, 30 Aug. 2023 But Japan is running out of space to build more tanks to accommodate the contaminated groundwater and rainwater that are still exiting the site. Min Joo Kim, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

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

Dictionary Entries Near rainwater

rainwash

rainwater

Rainwater

Cite this Entry

“Rainwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rainwater. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

rainwater

noun
rain·​wa·​ter -ˌwȯt-ər How to pronounce rainwater (audio)
-ˌwät-
: water falling or fallen as rain

Biographical Definition

Rainwater

biographical name

Rain·​wa·​ter ˈrān-ˌwȯ-tər How to pronounce Rainwater (audio)
-ˌwä-
L(eo) James 1917–1986 American physicist

More from Merriam-Webster on rainwater

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