rainy day

noun

: a period of want or need
saving for a rainy day
rainy-day adjective

Examples of rainy day in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The date was chosen because the weather is generally good, though early sunshine on Saturday gave way to a blustery, rainy day in London. Jill Lawless The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 16 June 2024 And the $750 million would be used to expand the state’s record-setting $3.3 billion rainy day fund and to pay down pension debt. Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 2 Apr. 2024 From rainy days in London to formal nights on cruise ships, this bag is coming with me everywhere. Patrice J. Williams, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Mar. 2024 The governor’s proposal takes $12.2 billion from the state’s rainy day reserves to help cover the shortfall over the next two years and reduces funding to address climate change, provide broadband internet and increase subsidized child care, among dozens of other cuts. Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024 This was despite Proposition 58, an initiative voters approved in 2004 and backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, which required the state to regularly transfer money into the rainy day fund. Louis Freedberg, The Mercury News, 30 May 2024 Moore proposed temporarily restoring some of the cuts for this year by pulling $150 million from the state’s rainy day fund. Sam Janesch, Baltimore Sun, 15 Mar. 2024 Their approach differs from Beshear's proposal rolled out in December, which foregoes dipping into the rainy day fund and instead focuses on amping up education and other spending over the long term. Rebecca Grapevine, The Courier-Journal, 21 Jan. 2024 On a particularly rainy day through the majestic grounds of Hotel Royal Victoria on Lake Como, good sneakers with traction prevented my Italian dream from ending in a nightmare with a trip to the hospital from a bad fall — more proof that small choices while packing can lead to big saves later on. Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rainy day.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1580, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rainy day was circa 1580

Dictionary Entries Near rainy day

Cite this Entry

“Rainy day.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rainy%20day. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

rainy day

noun
: a period of need or want
set a little money aside for a rainy day
rainy-day adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on rainy day

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