rain
/ˈɹeɪn/
nounverb
Core
1.n.water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
2.n.drops of fresh water that fall as precipitation from clouds
3.n.anything happening rapidly or in quick successive
“a rain of bullets”
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rain and reign are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. rain means “water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere”. reign means “a period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful”. rain is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈɹeɪn/
1.n.water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
2.n.drops of fresh water that fall as precipitation from clouds
3.n.anything happening rapidly or in quick successive
“a rain of bullets”
/ˈɹeɪn/
| rain | reign | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹeɪn/ | /ˈɹeɪn/ |
| Said | rayn | rayn |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 4 | 5 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Senses | 4 | 5 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | rainfall | none recorded |
Full entry for rain · Full entry for reign · More comparisons
1.n.a period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful
“he was helpless under the reign of his egotism”
2.n.the period during which a monarch is sovereign
“during the reign of Henry VIII”
3.n.royal authority; the dominion of a monarch