Definitions for rainbow
ˈreɪnˌboʊrain·bow

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. rainbownoun

   an arc of colored light in the sky caused by refraction of the sun's rays by rain

2. rainbownoun

   an illusory hope

   "chasing rainbows"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. rainbownoun

   A multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain in the air.

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

2. rainbownoun

   Any prismatic refraction of light showing a spectrum of colours.

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

3. rainbownoun

   A wide assortment; a varied multitude.

   a rainbow of possibilities

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

4. rainbownoun

   An illusion, mirage

   Many electoral promises are rainbows, vanishing soon after poll day.

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

5. rainbownoun

   A curveball, particularly a slow one

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

6. rainbownoun

   In Texas hold 'em or Omaha hold 'em, a flop that contains three different suits

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

7. rainbowverb

   To pattern with many colours, like a rainbow.

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

8. rainbowadjective

   Multicoloured.

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

9. rainbowadjective

   Made up of several races or ethnicities, or (more broadly) of several cultural or ideological factions.

   Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

10. rainbowadjective

    LGBT.

    Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

11. rainbowadjective

    Composed entirely of different suits.

    Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Rainbow

   A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun. Rainbows can be full circles. However, the observer normally sees only an arc formed by illuminated droplets above the ground, and centered on a line from the sun to the observer's eye. In a primary rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted when entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it. In a double rainbow, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, with red on the inner side of the arc. This is caused by the light being reflected twice on the inside of the droplet before leaving it.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Rainbownoun

   a bow or arch exhibiting, in concentric bands, the several colors of the spectrum, and formed in the part of the hemisphere opposite to the sun by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in drops of falling rain

   Etymology: [AS. regenboga, akin to G. regenbogen. See Rain, and Bow anything bent.]

Freebase(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Rainbow

   A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection of light in water droplets in the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun. In a "primary rainbow", the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted while entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it. In a double rainbow, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, red facing toward the other one, in both rainbows. This second rainbow is caused by light reflecting twice inside water droplets.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. rainbow

   "A rainbow towards night, Fair weather in sight. Rainbow at night, Sailor's delight; Rainbow in morning, Sailors, take warning."

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. rainbow

   The rainbow symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the rainbow symbol and its characteristic.

2. rainbow

   Song lyrics by rainbow -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by rainbow on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Bow
   • Promise
   • Sky

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'rainbow' in Nouns Frequency: #2953

How to pronounce rainbow?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say rainbow in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of rainbow in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of rainbow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of rainbow in a Sentence

1. Nicole DeHoff:

   We used Vaseline to help the glitter stick to Samantha’s skin, and then we applied the glitter in a rainbow sequence. This session fell together better than any session I could have planned in my head, the images turned out exactly how I had hoped, and we were able to capture the beauty of pregnancy, and honor Victoria.

2. Deodatta V. Shenai-Khatkhate:

   Life can be compared to a Rainbow that requires both the Sun and the Rain in order to create its Bright and Beautiful Colors.

3. Debasish Mridha, M.D.:

   Morning sunrise wakes me up with rays of hope. Clouds of fear can hide the sun but not for long. If rays of hope are strong and patience is a song, then hope will bloom and rain will bring a rainbow.

4. Gloria Gaither:

   We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lost sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.

5. David Studinski:

   Gender nonconforming and transgender individuals face challenges within our own community, say nothing of the vast array of perceptions they experience outside of it. Compound that with the trials and tribulations of childhood and adolescence, and it's quite obvious why these amazing young people deserve to see 2 million people supporting them along Fifth Avenue, what the world will see in return are smiling young faces, lit up by the ecstatic energy of rainbow-flag-waving spectators. If they're OK with who they are, the world should be, too.

Images & Illustrations of rainbow

Popularity rank by frequency of use