rainwater

rain·wa·ter | \ ˈrān-ˌwȯ-tər

How to pronounce rainwater (audio)

, -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

How to pronounce Rainwater (audio)

, -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 Union Ridge Elementary District 86 will install a new main parking lot with permeable pavers that will prevent rainwater from flooding into streets and the school’s basement, Superintendent Mike Maguire said. — Taylor Hartz, chicagotribune.com, "Union Ridge will replace parking lot with permeable pavers under MWRD Green Infrastructure Partnership," 15 Nov. 2019 Tree canopies intercept and store a portion of rainwater that never reaches the ground as runoff. — Melanie Feuk, Houston Chronicle, "Saturday: 500 free trees available in The Market at Springwoods Village," 14 Nov. 2019 The fault lines running through the site probably directed melting snow and rainwater to the high-altitude outpost providing water. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Research Suggests Machu Picchu Was Purposely Built On Top of Intersecting Fault Lines," 25 Sep. 2019 Plants and trees grow better with rainwater than tap water because tap water contains salt. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Tanks, swales put rainwater to eco-friendly use," 11 July 2019 Get rid of tin cans, old tires, buckets or other containers that collect and hold rainwater. — Julie Washington, cleveland, "Heartworm, Eastern equine encephalitis FAQ: Is there a vaccine? What are symptoms?," 20 Oct. 2019 Despite subsisting on rainwater at three weeks, the emaciated pup managed to survive. — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, "WATCH: A Month Later, Florida Rescue Group Finds “Miracle” Dog Trapped Beneath Rubble of Hurricane Dorian," 11 Oct. 2019 The dog had survived only on rainwater that filled a hole in front of him after the hurricane, so rescuers gave him some fluids to stabilize him before the hour-long flight. — Marisa Iati, Washington Post, "A puppy trapped by Hurricane Dorian was found alive a month later," 7 Oct. 2019 The huge tunnel now being dug under South Hartford is expected to cost $280 million and is intended to temporarily capture rainwater from big storms to prevent it from flushing raw sewage into the river. — Gregory B. Hladky, courant.com, "Massachusetts sewage spills no risk to Connecticut residents but could hurt Long Island Sound," 13 Sep. 2019

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.

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Last Updated

26 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Rainwater.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rainwater. Accessed 5 December 2019.

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