rain cloud
4
1.0
- noun
- /reɪn klaʊd/
:
nube de lluvia
- Thick, roiling rain clouds appear suddenly.
- dark rain cloud
You're telling me we can seed rain clouds in Dubai?
- You're telling me we can seed rain clouds in Dubai?
Examples
-
The sky was fat with rain clouds.
Fiction book (1993) -
Great fishing country, and I don't mind the rain clouds at all.
Fiction book (1993) -
I know what rain clouds look like, and there was none.
-
Here come the rain clouds.
-
The sun was out, and the rain clouds had moved east.
Fiction book (2001) -
The fire spread, its preternatural glow reflected on the gathering rain clouds.
Fiction book (1996) -
High above the trees, rain clouds were gathering, and soon raindrops were pattering onto the leaves.
Fiction book (1999) -
On the other side of the coast road, past the bobbing fishing boats, rain clouds wait impatiently to come ashore.
Fiction book (1996) -
From my seat on a bus on Highway 2 near Abalak, I watched dark blue rain clouds form above the brown line of the late-afternoon horizon.
Academic text (2002) -
As the picnic started, dark rain clouds began to gather overhead, signaling an approaching storm.
Synonyms
14
1.0
A dark, heavy cloud that shows rain or a storm is coming
3
2.5
A large dark cloud that brings thunder, lightning, and heavy rain
1
7.5
A dark grey cloud that brings rain
1
4.4
A thick dark grey cloud that makes rain
1
8.0
A thick low cloud layer that brings steady rain or snow
A low, flat gray cloud layer that often covers the sky and brings light drizzle
How Likely
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a cloud that brings or indicates rain' is directly and transparently compositional from 'rain' + 'cloud' — a straightforward noun–noun compound where the first noun specifies the type or function of the second. This is a common, cross-linguistic compounding pattern and follows basic English noun modification rules, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The noun rain cloud describes a dark grey cloud full of rain, like a heavy grey bag in the sky ready to pour water. That's why it means 'a cloud that brings rain'.