rain2 ●●● S3 verb 1 it rains if it rains, drops of water fall from clouds in the sky 下雨 Outside it was still raining. 外面仍在下雨。
It’s starting to rain. 开始下雨了。
rain heavily/hard It must have rained quite hard last night. 昨晚一定下了很大的雨。
it’s raining cats and dogs spoken (=it is raining very hard) 下倾盆大雨
it rains• But the next day it rains.• They have a low, vaulted ceiling and damp, grimy walls which run with water when it rains.• Water gushes through the roof when it rains.• It's such a clich, but boy, it sure seems like it rains every year.• He says the sun will only shine on him if it rains for at least a month.• If it rains, the programme will be aerobics, papiermâché mask making, craft work and painting etc.• If it rains, there will be aerobics and make up morning, followed by indoor cycling proficiency.• It is a city more in tune with outdoor recreation than cultural institutions, but it rains there. 2 rain (down) blows/blows rain down if you rain blows onto someone, you hit them many times 雨点般击打 She attacked the man, raining blows on his head and shoulders. 她对那个男人大打出手,拳头雨点般落在他头上和肩上。
3. it never rains but it pours spokenLOT/LARGE NUMBER OR AMOUNT used to say that as soon as one thing goes wrong, a lot of other things go wrong as well 祸不单行 4 rain down phrasal verbphr v DOWNto fall in large quantities 雨点般落下 on Bombs rained down on the city. 炸弹如雨点般落向这座城市。
5 be rained off British EnglishBrE, be rained out American English phrasal verbphr v DNif an event or activity is rained off or rained out, it has to stop because there is too much rain 〔赛事或活动〕因雨停止 The match was rained off. 比赛因为下雨而中断。
COLLOCATIONSnadverbsit rains heavily/hard (=a lot of water comes down)It was raining heavily when we arrived in New York.
it rains non-stop/solidly/steadily (=without stopping)It rained solidly every single day.
it rains slightly/lightly (=a little water comes down)It’s raining slightly, but we can still go out.
nverbsit starts raining/it starts to rainIt had started to rain again.
it stops rainingHas it stopped raining?
phrasesit is raining cats and dogs informal (=it is raining very hard – this phrase sounds rather old-fashioned) 下倾盆大雨
THESAURUSit’s raining drops of water are falling from the sky 在下雨It’s raining – you’d better take an umbrella. 在下雨呢——你最好带把伞。
it’s pouring (down) British EnglishBrE, it’s pouring (rain) American EnglishAmE it is raining very heavily 大雨倾盆We stayed at home because it was pouring down all day. 我们待在家里,因为倾盆大雨下了一整天。
it’s chucking it down British EnglishBrE informal it is raining very heavily 大雨如注Outside it was chucking it down and the streets were deserted. 室外大雨如注,街上空无一人。
it’s drizzling very gentle rain is falling 在下毛毛雨It’s only drizzling – let’s go for a walk anyway. 只是在下毛毛雨,我们还是去散步吧。
it’s hailing frozen rain in the form of small balls of ice are falling 在下冰雹It had been hailing and the roads were still slippery. 一直在下冰雹,道路还很滑。