often attributive
rained; raining; rains
1
: to send down rain
2
: to fall as water in drops from the clouds
3
: to fall like rain
soot and ash rained down
see also:
Examples of rain in a Sentence
Noun
The weatherman forecasts rain for this afternoon.
Everyone went inside when the rain began to fall.
What the garden needs is a good, soaking rain.
A light rain began to fall.
There has been some flooding due to the recent heavy rains.
We've had a week of rain.
The rains came and flooded the valley.
Verb
Sparks from the fireworks rained on the field.
The volcano rained ashes on the city.
Recent Examples on the Web
Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026
Pinch hitter Graham Pauley lined a go-ahead two-run double with the bases loaded against Jake Bird to spark a four-run eighth inning and the Miami Marlins hung on for a 7-6 victory over the host New York Yankees after a lengthy rain delay Sunday.
—Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
Lucia I Suarez Sang, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Spring weather can be unpredictable, with sudden shifts from sunny skies to rain and thunderstorms.
—Hector Amezcua, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rain
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
After rain washed out Saturday’s game — setting up only the Cubs’ second doubleheader against an American League team (2014 against the New York Yankees) — the cold conditions with a wind chill in the 30s didn’t create an ideal hitting environment Sunday.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026
Pinch hitter Graham Pauley lined a go-ahead two-run double with the bases loaded against Jake Bird to spark a four-run eighth inning and the Miami Marlins hung on for a 7-6 victory over the host New York Yankees after a lengthy rain delay Sunday.
—Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
Verb
Tehran launched seven ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia that authorities said rained debris on the ground near energy facilities as they were intercepted.
—Lucia I Suarez Sang, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Spring weather can be unpredictable, with sudden shifts from sunny skies to rain and thunderstorms.
—Hector Amezcua, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rain
Cite this Entry
“Rain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rain. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rain
2 of 2 verb1
: to fall as water in drops from the clouds
2
: to send down rain
3
: to fall like rain
ashes rained from the volcano
4
: to give in large amounts
rained blows on each other
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