rain cloud

noun

"rain-cloud" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rain cloud” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cloud from which rain is falling or may fall.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rain-cloud · rain cloud · English

rain cloud · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for rain cloud
PropertyValue
Headwordrain cloud
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rain cloud” in English

rain cloudranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rain cloud is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A cloud from which rain is falling or may fall.".

rain cloud doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is rain cloud, spelled R-A-I-N- -C-L-O-U-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cloud from which rain is falling or may fall.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rain cloud appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Between the grey mist of rainclouds the sun suddenly appeared to mottle the wet asphalt of Marble Arch in patches of silver and ebony.
  2. During this fine run through Fife the weather had deteriorated rapidly, and as we passed Wormit and came onto the Tay Bridge heavy rain clouds were piled over the sea.

Synonyms

nimbusnimbostratus

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rain cloud"?
"rain cloud" is spelled R-A-I-N- -C-L-O-U-D.
What does "rain cloud" mean?
As a noun, "rain cloud" means: A cloud from which rain is falling or may fall.
What language does "rain cloud" come from?
"rain cloud" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list