Meaning & use
raining cats and dogs
An idiom meaning that it is raining very heavily.
See it in a sentence
We had to cancel the picnic because it was raining cats and dogs all afternoon.
By the time the bus arrived, it was raining cats and dogs outside.
A note on using this word
The exact origin is uncertain; the phrase has no literal connection to actual cats or dogs falling from the sky.
Words with a similar meaning
pouringraining heavily
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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