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rain

Pronunciation: /reɪn/

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Definition of rain

noun

[mass noun]

the condensed moisture of the atmosphere falling visibly in separate drops:the rain had not stopped for days it’s pouring with rain
(rains) falls of rain:the plants were washed away by unusually heavy rains
[in singular] a large or overwhelming quantity of things that fall or descend:he fell under the rain of blows

verb

[no object] (it rains, it is raining, etc.)

rain falls:it was beginning to rain
literary (of the sky, the clouds, etc.) send down rain: the low sky raining over tower’d Camelot
[with adverbial of direction] fall or cause to fall in large or overwhelming quantities: [no object]:bombs rained down [with object]:she rained blows on to him
[with object] (it rains ——, it is raining ——, etc.) used to convey that a specified thing is falling in large quantities:it was just raining glass

Phrases

be as right as rain: be perfectly fit and well: she’ll be right as rain in a couple of days
it never rains but it pours: see pour.
rain cats and dogs: rain very hard.
[origin uncertain; first recorded in 1738, used by Jonathan Swift, but the phrase rain dogs and polecats was used a century earlier in Richard Brome's The City Witt]
rain on someone's parade: informal prevent someone from enjoying an event; spoil someone’s plans.
(come) rain or shine: whether it rains or not; whatever the weather:he runs six miles every morning, rain or shine

Phrasal Verbs

be rained off (or North American out): (of an event) be cancelled or terminated because of rain:the match was rained off

Derivatives

rainless

Origin:

Old English regn (noun), regnian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch regen and German Regen

rain in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of rain in the US English dictionary

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monocular

/ məˈnɒkjʊlə

/

adjective , noun

with, for, or in one eye …

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