rain out
B1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
When it rains so much that an outdoor event has to stop or be cancelled.
Literal meaning: Rain causing something to be 'out' (finished/cancelled).
Meanings
1 B1
idiomatic
neutral
(American English, usually passive) To cause an outdoor event to be cancelled or stopped because of rain.
"Saturday's game was rained out and rescheduled for Monday."
"The doubleheader was rained out and will be made up later this season."
— ESPN, 2021
Grammar: separable
2 B1
idiomatic
informal
To force someone out of an outdoor space or activity because of rain.
"We were rained out of the campsite after three days of non-stop downpours."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Chiefly American English. Like 'rain off,' most commonly used in the passive: 'The game was rained out.' Very frequent in sports reporting, especially baseball.
Commonly used with
game match baseball picnic concert event
Forms
Base
rain out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
rains out
he/she/it
Past simple
rained out
yesterday
Past participle
rained out
have + pp
-ing form
raining out
continuous
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