rain down
Definition
- Verb:
- To fall or descend in a heavy, copious, or continuous manner, like rain: The primary meaning is to fall from above in great quantity or intensity, often in a way that suggests a sudden or overwhelming shower.
- To cause something to fall or descend in such a manner: To shower or pour something down upon a person, place, or thing.
Usage Examples
- Verb (intransitive - to fall like rain):
- After the explosion, ash and debris began to rain down on the city.
- Confetti rained down on the parade winners from the rooftops.
- Verb (transitive - to cause to fall):
- The protesters rained down insults on the politician.
- The artillery unit rained down shells on the enemy position.
Advanced Usage
- "rain down on/upon": This is the most common construction, specifying the target of the falling objects or actions.
- Gifts rained down upon the newborn prince from well-wishers around the world.
- Used figuratively to describe a non-physical, overwhelming onslaught.
- Questions rained down on the speaker after the controversial statement.
Variants and Related Words
- Rain (verb/noun): The source word, meaning condensed moisture falling from the sky.
- Downpour (noun): A heavy fall of rain.
- Shower (verb): To fall or cause to fall in a spray or many small, quick drops.
Synonyms
- Pour down: To descend heavily and continuously.
- Hail down: To fall or be thrown forcefully and in large numbers (often for hard objects or criticism).
- Pelt down: To strike repeatedly with small objects, like heavy rain or hail.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Rain off/out (phrasal verb): To cause an event to be canceled or stopped because of rain.
- The baseball game was rained out. (Note: "Rain down" itself is the primary phrasal verb in focus.)
Related Idioms
- It's raining cats and dogs: An idiom meaning it is raining very heavily.
- Come rain or shine: An idiom meaning regardless of the circumstances or weather.
Verb
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precipitate as rain
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If it rains much more, we can expect some flooding
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