Rainwater
name, noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Rainfall. uncountable, usually
"In early December, as rainwaters had started the monthlong process of flooding mines and washing out rail lines, workers lined up before 1 p.m. at an easy-to-miss storefront depot in Mackay."
- 2 drops of fresh water that fall as precipitation from clouds wordnet
- 3 Water (for a house, etc.) sourced from rain which has not joined a spring, stream or river, pond, lake or sea. uncountable, usually
"Constructed of hard flint stone, which came as ballast from England and is now painted coral white, the house has a fishpond, or catchment, roof, dating from 1788, to collect rainwater."
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"The rainwater runs off through this pipe."
Etymology
From Middle English reinwater, from Old English reġnwæter, equivalent to rain + water. Cognate with West Frisian reinwetter, Dutch regenwater, German Regenwasser, Swedish regnvatten.
Related phrases
More for "rainwater"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.