⚡ To cause suddenly 🧪 To form a solid 🧫 A solid from solution 🌧️ To fall as rain ⏬ To throw suddenly 🏃 Too hasty

to precipitate

1 5.5

To fall from clouds as rain or snow

verb
/prɪˈsɪpɪteɪt/

: caer (lluvia, nieve)

The convective currents transport water upward to much lower pressure and temperature, where it condenses and precipitates from the atmosphere.

Examples

That's where most of it went when the water precipitated out of the atmosphere.

Blog text (6)
For clouds that are sufficiently long-lived or condensate-laden, larger hydrometeors such as rain or snow form and rapidly precipitate from the atmosphere.

Academic text (2012)
The rain began to precipitate, soaking everything outside in just a few minutes.
As the temperature dropped, snow started to precipitate from the clouds, blanketing the ground.
With dark clouds forming overhead, we knew it would precipitate before long.

Synonyms

to fall

vsto precipitate

∞ 1.0

Move or drop down from a higher to a lower place

is specific to weather processes where moisture moves from clouds down

to rain

vsto precipitate

541 1.0

To fall from clouds as small drops of water

is the general term that includes this water form and others

to come down

vsto precipitate

129 1.3

To fall from the sky, as rain, snow, or ash

is the broad meteorological term for any moisture dropping from clouds

to snow

vsto precipitate

116 1.0

To fall from the sky as frozen white flakes

is the general meteorological term covering this and other types

to rain down

vsto precipitate

36 3.4

Fall from above in large amounts, like ash or confetti

is the neutral scientific verb for any cloud-to-ground moisture movement

to hail

vsto precipitate

15 1.9

To fall from the sky as small balls of ice during a storm

is the meteorological term that includes this specific ice form

to sleet

vsto precipitate

1 3.3

To fall as a mix of rain and snow

is the general term that covers mixed and single forms alike

to shower down

vsto precipitate

1 3.5

To fall from above in large amounts, like rain or ash

is the technical term for ordinary atmospheric moisture falling to earth

Antonyms

to evaporate

45 3.5

Change a liquid like water into gas by heating

How Heavy

to pour

588 1.0

to precipitate

1 5.5

to drizzle

7 1.0

to sprinkle

8 1.0

Surface Forms

precipitate infinitive

precipitated past

precipitated past participle

precipitating present participle

precipitates third person singular

Morphology

precipitate = precipit + ate

Although the verb ends in the productive suffix '-ate', the stem 'precipit-' is not a standalone English word and the meaning is not transparently built from familiar English morphemes for most learners.

Etymology

Precipitate comes from Latin parts prae- 'before' and caput 'head', which gave the image of falling 'headfirst'. So, when rain or snow 'precipitate' from clouds, they are simply 'falling' down from above.