precipitation
/pɹɪˌsɪpɪˈteɪʃn̩/noun
precipitation is spelled P-R-E-C-I-P-I-T-A-T-I-O-N: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, precipitation means “Any or all of the forms of water particles, whether liquid or solid, that fall from the upper atmosphere (e.g., rain, hail, snow or sleet). It is a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of precipitation is precipitations.
How many letters and syllables are in precipitation?
| Letters | 13: P-R-E-C-I-P-I-T-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.4 times per million words; the 12,216th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is precipitation?
Precipitation appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce precipitation?
- US /pɹɪˌsɪpɪˈteɪʃn̩/
Precipitation has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-precipitation.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with precipitation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as precipitation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃn/):
- information
- formation
- preparation
- presentation
- relation
- identification
- observation
- variation
- obligation
- simulation
- notification
- calculation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of precipitation
- precipitations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does precipitation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any or all of the forms of water particles, whether liquid or solid, that fall from the upper atmosphere (e.g., rain, hail, snow or sleet). It is a major class of hydrometeor, but it is distinguished from cloud, fog, dew, rime, frost, etc., in that it must fall. It is distinguished from cloud and virga in that it must reach the ground.
South Korea’s Ministry of Environment said in a news release that no major precipitation was observed after the cloud seeding operation.
- 2
The amount of water precipitated in any form.
- 3
A hurried headlong fall.
- 4
A reaction that leads to the formation of a heavier, and often less soluble, solid in a lighter liquid; the precipitate so formed at the bottom of the container.
- 5
Unwise or rash rapidity; sudden haste.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate precipitation?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of precipitation: pcpn, pptn., precip.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Precipitation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | précipitation |
| German | Niederschlag , Präzipitation |
| Portuguese | precipitação |
| Spanish | precipitación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does precipitation come from?
From Middle French précipitation, from Latin praecipitātiō, praecipitātiōnem. By surface analysis, precipitate + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).