Chance of Rain: Meaning and Usage Explained

Meaning 1：probability of rain (Chance of rain)

Chance of rain 🔊

/ˈtʃɑːns əv reɪn/

n. phrase

The possibility that rain will fall, often given as a percentage.

Smartphone showing 40% rain probability in weather app

probability of rain 🔊

➕

/ˌprɒbəˈbɪlɪti əv reɪn/

n. phrase

The likelihood that rain will occur, typically expressed as a percentage in weather forecasts.

📁 Category：Natural Geography 🔖 Level：中级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old French 'cheance' (falling of dice) + Old English 'regn' (water droplets from clouds).

💡 Mnemonic

Picture a cloudy sky with a 40% bar – forty out of one hundred raindrops hitting the ground.

📖 Example

Before going for a run, I checked the weather app and saw there was a 60% chance of rain in the afternoon. 🔊 Before going for a run, I checked the weather app and saw there was a 60% chance of rain in the afternoon.

🔗 Collocations

high chance of rain – high chance of rain

chance of rain increases – chance of rain increases

low chance of rain – low chance of rain

🔄 Synonyms

precipitation probability (n. phrase) – The statistical likelihood that measurable precipitation will fall at a given location.

rain probability (n. phrase) – The chance that rain will occur, often expressed as a percentage.

likelihood of rain (n. phrase) – The degree to which rain is expected to happen.

🚫 Antonyms

clear sky (n. phrase) – Weather condition with no clouds or precipitation expected.

zero precipitation chance (n. phrase) – Forecast indicating that no rain or snow is expected.

🌱 Derivatives

rain chance percentage (n. phrase) – The numerical value representing the likelihood of rain.

precipitation outlook (n. phrase) – A forecast describing the expected type and probability of precipitation.

📖 Cultural Story

The term gained prominence in 20th-century meteorology when the U.S. Weather Bureau began expressing precipitation probability as a percentage in public forecasts.