Definition

1. Noun:
   • A ticket or voucher given to a person when a scheduled event (like a sports game or concert) is postponed, especially due to rain, which allows them to attend the rescheduled event or a future similar event.
   • An informal promise or request to accept an invitation or offer at a later time, when one is unable to accept it now.

Usage

• Noun:
  • The baseball game was rained out, so we got rain checks to use for next week's game.
  • "I can't join you for dinner tonight, but can I take a rain check?" (This is a very common, idiomatic way to politely decline an offer while expressing a desire to accept it later.)

Advanced Usage

• "to give someone a rain check": To formally issue a ticket for a future event or, more commonly, to informally agree that an invitation remains open for the future.
  • The theater gave everyone in the audience a rain check for the cancelled performance.
  • Don't worry about missing the party tonight; I'll give you a rain check for the next one.
• "to take a rain check": To politely decline an offer while asking or implying you would like to accept it another time.
  • Thanks for inviting me to the movies, but I'm busy. Can I take a rain check?

Variants and Related Words

• Postponement (n): The action of delaying an event to a later time. (This is the formal reason for issuing a literal rain check).
• Deferral (n): The action of putting something off to a later time. (Related to the idiomatic meaning).

Synonyms

• Postponement voucher (for the literal ticket meaning).
• I.O.U. (for the informal promise meaning, though an I.O.U. is typically for money or a tangible item).

Related Phrases

• "To reschedule": To arrange for something to happen at a different time. This is the action that necessitates a literal rain check.
  • They had to reschedule the match, so rain checks were issued.
• "Another time": A simple phrase with a similar function to the idiomatic "rain check."
  • I'd love to, but can we do it another time?

Related Idioms

• "Take a pass (for now)": To decide not to do something at the present moment. Similar to "take a rain check" but does not necessarily imply a desire to do it later.
• "Have a standing invitation": To be welcome to do something at any time. This could be the result of a successful "rain check" request.

Noun

1. a ticket stub entitling the holder to admission to a future event if the scheduled event was cancelled due to rain
2. a promise that an unaccepted offer will be renewed in the future