Browse all

chuck it down

B1 informal intransitive
In simple words

When it rains very, very hard — like someone is pouring buckets of water from the sky

Literal meaning: To chuck (throw) 'it' (the rain) downward — as if someone in the sky is throwing water down

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic informal

To rain very heavily (always used with the fixed subject 'it'; British English)

"Take an umbrella — it's been chucking it down all morning."

Usage notes

Fixed British English expression — the pronoun 'it' cannot be replaced or moved. Almost always used in continuous tenses: 'it's chucking it down' or 'it was chucking it down'. Used in everyday British speech about weather. Not understood in all varieties of English.

Commonly used with

outside rain umbrella typical again all day

Forms

Base
chuck it down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
chucks it down
he/she/it
Past simple
chucked it down
yesterday
Past participle
chucked it down
have + pp
-ing form
chucking it down
continuous

Understand "chuck it down" better

Try:

Real video examples

Video examples are being collected. Check back soon.

Want to master this phrasal verb?

Practice "chuck it down" on Looplines