to rain down

36 3.4

Fall from above in large amounts, like ash or confetti

phrasal verb
/reɪn daʊn/

: llover

Fragments of metal, flesh, and glass fuse, then rain down to earth.
bombs rain down

Like he could rain some terror down on people.

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Examples

And the popcorn and the peanuts are raining down.

Cinderella Man (2005)
As they ran in terror, ash rained down and buried their village.

Academic text (2009)
Let it rain down on me.

Blades of Glory (2007)
So things are getting dark and you know, the sky is just raining down more freezing rain.

Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy
Rockets and air strikes continue to rain down on Israel and Gaza.
After you succeed at something, you expect the skies to open and happiness to rain down on you, but that rarely happens.
For hours on end, it will rumble across the land, raining down destruction and telling the earth of courage.
Something unsettling happened as bombs began to rain down on Baghdad during the U.S. war on Iraq.

Academic text (2003)
After a blink, and while crystallized glass was still raining down, the car interior filled with flames.

Fiction book (1992)
During the storm, hailstones rained down on the roof, creating a loud noise.

Synonyms

to rain

vsto rain down

541 1.0

To fall from clouds as small drops of water

focuses specifically on large amounts being sent down from above

to come down

vsto rain down

129 1.3

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

stresses falling in large amounts rather than just the simple descent

to cascade down

vsto rain down

4 4.2

To fall or flow quickly in large amounts like a waterfall

is similar but applies more broadly to things sent down from above

to beat down

vsto rain down

4 3.9

To shine or fall very strongly on a place

focuses on large amounts descending rather than direct shining or heat

to rain cats and dogs

vsto rain down

Informal

3 5.9

To rain very hard

is the neutral descriptive form without idiomatic or playful tone

to shower down

vsto rain down

1 3.5

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

has identical meaning but is the more common general phrase for this action

to bucket down

vsto rain down

1 6.5

To rain very hard

emphasizes falling in large amounts but is less colloquial

to rain buckets

vsto rain down

Informal

1 5.6

To pour a lot of water from the sky

focuses on large quantities from above without idiomatic colour

to come down in stair rods

vsto rain down

Archaic

9.9

To rain very heavily

covers heavy falling too but can be slightly more general in tone

to come down heavily

vsto rain down

3.4

Rain that falls very hard

highlights large amounts from above rather than physical force alone

to raining pitchforks

vsto rain down

Informal

8.9

To rain very heavily with water falling fast and hard

is the plain description of lots falling from above without idiom

Antonyms

to dry up

19 2.7

To lose all water or moisture so it has none left

How Hard

to rain down

36 3.4

to drizzle

7 1.0

Surface Forms

rain down infinitive

rained down past

rained down past participle

raining down present participle

rains down third person singular

Morphology

rain + down

The meaning 'to fall or be sent down in large amounts' follows directly from combining 'rain' (to fall as precipitation) with 'down' (toward a lower position); the imagery of something falling from above is literal and accessible. This verb+particle pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb rain down comes from the image of heavy rain falling down from the sky. So, when we say things 'rain down' we mean they 'fall' or 'arrive' in large amounts from above, like ash, praise, or confetti.