rain showers

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Short periods of rain that stop and start, often with sunny intervals.

   Grammar: Used in the plural to talk about the weather; a single one is 'a rain shower'.

   Patterns

   • rain showers
   • scattered rain showers
   • a chance of rain showers

   The forecast says there will be rain showers this afternoon, so take an umbrella.

   We had a few rain showers in the morning, but the afternoon was sunny.

   Scattered rain showers are expected along the coast.

2. 2nouncountable

   A brief fall of rain.

   Grammar: Countable when referring to one instance: 'a rain shower'.

   Patterns

   • a rain shower
   • a brief rain shower

   A sudden rain shower caught us on our walk.

   We waited under a tree until the rain shower passed.

Word forms

Common combinations

scattered rain showers

Scattered rain showers are forecast for the weekend.

a chance of rain showers

There's a chance of rain showers later today.

light rain showers

Light rain showers are expected in the morning.

heavy rain showers

Heavy rain showers caused some flooding.

Synonyms and how they differ

showers

Shorter and very common in weather forecasts; usually means rain showers.

drizzle

Drizzle is light, steady rain, not short periods of rain.

sprinkle

A sprinkle is a very light, brief rain, less than a shower.

Word family

rain noun

Water falling from clouds.

showery adjective

Describing weather with frequent rain showers.

Commonly confused: rain showers or rainstorm?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “rain showers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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