Definition of 'rain'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present
tense rains
, present participle raining
, past tense, past participle rained
1. uncountable noun [oft the NOUN]
Rain is water that falls from the clouds in small drops.
2. plural noun
4. verb
Rain down means the same as rain.
5. singular noun [NOUN of noun]
6.
7.
See as right as rain
8.
See rain or shine
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
rain
Word Frequency
rain in British English
noun
1.
a.
precipitation from clouds in the form of drops of water, formed by the condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere
verb
6. (often with it as subject)
to fall or cause to fall like rain
the lid flew off and popcorn rained on everyone
9. rained off
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
rainless (ˈrainless) adjective
Word origin
Old English regn; related to Old Frisian rein, Old High German regan, Gothic rignWord Frequency
rain in American English
verb intransitive
5.
to fall
said of rain, and usually in an impersonal construction it is raining
6.
to fall like rain
bullets rained about him
7.
to cause rain to fall
said of the heavens, clouds, etc. verb transitive
9.
to give in large quantities
to rain praises on someone
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
rainless (ˈrainless)
adjective
Word origin
ME rein < OE regn, akin to Ger regen < IE base *re-, var. of *reĝ-, moist, wet > L rigare, to wet, moisten: see irrigateExamples of 'rain' in a sentence
rain
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Word lists with
rain
Weather phenomenaQuick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
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Score: 0 / 5
Which weather phenomena am I?
a luminous electrically charged ball occasionally seen during electrical storms
Which weather phenomena am I?
a current of air, sometimes of considerable force, moving generally horizontally from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure
Which weather phenomena am I?
a mass of droplets of condensed water vapour suspended in the air, often greatly reducing visibility, corresponding to a cloud but at a lower level
Which weather phenomena am I?
to cover, clog, or harden with ice, or become so covered, clogged, or hardened
Which weather phenomena am I?
an unusually large incoming wave, often caused by high winds and spring tides
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More idioms containing
rain
Trends of
rain
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In other languages
rain
British English: rain
/reɪn/ NOUN
Rain is water that falls from the clouds in small drops.
I hope you didn't get too wet standing out in the rain.
- American English: rain /ˈreɪn/
- Arabic: مَطَر
- Brazilian Portuguese: chuva
- Chinese: 雨
- Croatian: kiša
- Czech: déšť
- Danish: regn
- Dutch: regen
- European Spanish: lluvia
- Finnish: sade
- French: pluie
- German: Regen
- Greek: βροχή
- Italian: pioggia
- Japanese: 雨
- Korean: 비
- Norwegian: regn
- Polish: deszcz
- European Portuguese: chuva
- Romanian: ploaie
- Russian: дождь
- Latin American Spanish: lluvia
- Swedish: regn
- Thai: ฝน
- Turkish: yağmur
- Ukrainian: дощ
- Vietnamese: mưa
British English: rain
/reɪn/ VERB
When rain falls, you can say that it is raining.
It rained all weekend.
- American English: rain /ˈreɪn/
- Arabic: يـَمْطُرُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: chover
- Chinese: 下雨
- Croatian: kišiti
- Czech: pršet
- Danish: regne
- Dutch: regenen
- European Spanish: llover
- Finnish: sataa
- French: pleuvoir
- German: regnen
- Greek: βρέχει
- Italian: piovere
- Japanese: 雨が降る
- Korean: 비가 내리다
- Norwegian: regne
- Polish: padać
- European Portuguese: chover
- Romanian: a ploua
- Russian: идет дождь
- Latin American Spanish: llover
- Swedish: regna
- Thai: ฝนตก
- Turkish: yağmur yağmak
- Ukrainian: дощити
- Vietnamese: mưa
Nearby words of
rain
Source
Definition of rain from theCollins English Dictionary
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