Meaning & use
raining cats and dogs
Last updated
UK/ˌreɪnɪŋ ˌkæts ən ˈdɒɡz/
US/ˌreɪnɪŋ ˌkæts ən ˈdɔːɡz/
Meaning
phraseidiominformal
Raining very hard, in a heavy downpour.
Grammar: Only works with rain, not with other weather: it is raining cats and dogs.
Patterns
- it is raining cats and dogs
- it rains cats and dogs
We stayed inside because it was raining cats and dogs.
It was raining cats and dogs when we left the stadium.
Don't forget an umbrella; it's raining cats and dogs out there.
Common combinations
- it's raining cats and dogs
- It's raining cats and dogs, so bring a coat.
- started raining cats and dogs
- It started raining cats and dogs halfway through the game.
- when it rains cats and dogs
- The road floods when it rains cats and dogs.
- still raining cats and dogs
- It was still raining cats and dogs at midnight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pouring
- Pouring is plain and literal, while raining cats and dogs is a playful idiom.
- bucketing down
- Bucketing down is a British informal expression for the same heavy rain.
- teeming
- Teeming is more formal and literary, often seen in British writing.
- coming down in sheets
- Coming down in sheets paints a picture of walls of water, so it is more vivid than the idiom.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: raining cats and dogs or raining men?
raining cats and dogs vs raining men
Raining men is from a pop song and has no meaning of heavy rain; the idiom is cats and dogs.
Practice
'It's raining cats and dogs' means ___.
Choose one answer.
The idiom means heavy rain. Raining lightly is the opposite meaning and a tempting guess for learners who do not know the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “raining cats and dogs”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.