rain noun [uncountable] water that falls in small drops from clouds in the sky:
The rain has stopped at last.
There had been heavy rain during the night.
drizzle noun [uncountable] light rain with very small drops of water:
A light drizzle was falling as I left the house.
shower noun [countable] a short period of rain that can be heavy or light:
More heavy showers are forecast for tonight.
a light shower of rain
downpour noun [countable usually singular] a short period of very heavy rain that starts suddenly:
A sudden downpour sent us running for shelter.
a torrential downpour
hail noun [uncountable] frozen rain that falls in the form of hailstones (=small balls of ice):
The hail and high winds have destroyed many of the county’s crops.
sleet noun [uncountable] a mixture of snow and rain:
The rain had turned to sleet
Sleet and snow fell.
the rains noun [plural] heavy rain that falls during a particular period in the year in tropical countries:
The farmers are waiting for the rains to come.
monsoon noun [countable ] the heavy rain that falls between April and October in India and other southern Asian countries:
The monsoon is late this year.
the monsoon season
it rains heavily/hard (=a lot of water comes down)
It was raining heavily when we arrived in New York.
it rains non-stop/solidly/steadily (=without stopping)
It rained solidly every single day.
it rains slightly/lightly (=a little water comes down)
It’s raining slightly, but we can still go out.
it starts raining/it starts to rain
It had started to rain again.
it stops raining
Has it stopped raining?
it is raining cats and dogs informal (=it is raining very hard – this phrase sounds rather old-fashioned)
it’s raining drops of water are falling from the sky:
It’s raining – you’d better take an umbrella.
it’s pouring (down) British English, it’s pouring (rain) American English it is raining very heavily:
We stayed at home because it was pouring down all day.
it’s chucking it down British English informal it is raining very heavily:
Outside it was chucking it down and the streets were deserted.
it’s drizzling very gentle rain is falling:
It’s only drizzling – let’s go for a walk anyway.
it’s hailing frozen rain in the form of small balls of ice are falling:
It had been hailing and the roads were still slippery.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲