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PlainSpell

rainbow

/ˈɹeɪnboʊ/noun, adjective, verb

rainbow is spelled R-A-I-N-B-O-W: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,347th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rainbow means “A multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain in the air” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rainbow is rainbows.

How many letters and syllables are in rainbow?

Letters7: R-A-I-N-B-O-W
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing12 times per million words; the 6,347th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

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).

How common is rainbow?

Rainbow appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,347th 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 rainbow?

  • US /ˈɹeɪnboʊ/
  • US /ˈɹeɪmboʊ/
  • UK /ˈɹeɪnbəʊ/

Rainbow has 2 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-rainbow.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of rainbow

  • rainbows plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • rainbowing participle, present
  • rainbowed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does rainbow mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

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

  2. 2

    Any prismatic refraction of light showing a spectrum of colours.

  3. 3

    A wide assortment; a varied multitude.

    a rainbow of possibilities

  4. 4

    An illusion; a mirage.

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

  5. 5

    A curveball, particularly a slow one.

  6. 6

    A trick in which the player makes the ball arc over the opponent's head using both feet; rainbow kick

  7. 7

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

  8. 8

    Rainbow trout.

adjective

  1. 1

    Multicolored, especially if in rainbow order.

  2. 2

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

    That Asian-American actor Thomas Ikeda contributes a pleasingly frantic Panthino would not be considered rainbow enough.

  3. 3

    derogatoryLGBT.

  4. 4

    Composed entirely of different suits.

  5. 5

    Of or pertaining to rainbow tables.

    rainbow attack

verb

  1. 1

    To brighten with, or as with, a rainbow; to pattern with the colours of the rainbow.

  2. 2

    To take the appearance of a rainbow.

  3. 3

    In climbing gyms where the rocks to climb are colored to indicate suggested climbing routes, to climb rocks of different colors, thereby ignoring such routes.

noun

as Rainbow
  1. 1

    A member of the Rainbow Guides, a Girl Guide movement for younger girls.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Rainbow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frencharc-en-ciel (multicoloured arch in the sky), polychromer (To pattern with many colours, like a rainbow)
GermanRegenbogen, Ragaboga, Räjeböje (multicoloured arch in the sky), bunt, vielfarbig (multicoloured)
Portuguesearco-íris, arco-da-velha, arco da aliança (multicoloured arch in the sky), multicor, multicolor (multicoloured)
Spanisharco iris, arcoíris, arco del cielo, arco célico/celestial/celeste, arco de san Martín (multicoloured arch in the sky), abanico (assortment, varied multitude – see also range…)

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 rainbow come from?

From Middle English reynbowe, raynbowe, from Old English reġnboga (“rainbow”), from Proto-West Germanic *regnabogō, from Proto-Germanic *regnabugô (“rainbow”), equivalent to rain + bow (“arch”). Cognate with West Frisian reinbôge (“rainbow”), Dutch regenboog (“rainbow”), German Regenbogen (“rainbow”), Danish regnbue (“rainbow”), Swedish regnbåge (“rainbow”), Icelandic regnbogi (“rainbow”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after rainbow