Word.ws English Dictionary

rainbow

UK/ˈɹeɪnbəʊ//ˈɹeɪnboʊ/

rainbow noun: a multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain in the air.

rainbow: a multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain...
Image: Wing-Chi Poon, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

rainbow (plural rainbows)

  1. A multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain in the air.
    • Why are there so many songs about rainbows
      And what's on the other side?
      Rainbows are visions, but only illusions
      And rainbows have nothing to hide.1979, Paul Williams, Kenneth Ascher, “Rainbow Connection”, performed by Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson)
    Synonyms:
    iris
  2. Any prismatic refraction of light showing a spectrum of colours.
    Synonyms:
    spectrum
  3. (often) A wide assortment; a varied multitude.
    • a rainbow of possibilities
  4. (figuratively) An illusion; a mirage.
    • Many electoral promises are rainbows, vanishing soon after poll day.
  5. A curveball, particularly a slow one.
  6. A trick in which the player makes the ball arc over the opponent's head using both feet; rainbow kick
  7. (slang) In Texas hold 'em or Omaha hold 'em, a flop that contains three different suits.
  8. Rainbow trout.
    • Finally, by actual trial, I have found that I can catch more rainbow by using one fly than with a two or three-fly cast.1911, Francis R. Steel, “Catching the Rainbow Trout”, in The Outing Magazine, volume 58, page 482
  9. (derogatory, figuratively, sometimes) A person within the LGBT community.
    • Oh look, the rainbow came back.

Adjective

rainbow (not comparable)

  1. Multicolored, especially if in rainbow order.
    Synonyms:
    motley
  2. (US, attributive) Made 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.1994, John Simon, Of Dogs, Their Masters, and Others, in New York magazine, September 5 1994, page 51
    • He went along with them because the Pack was a rainbow group — two Italian-Americans, a black man, a Jew (Bishop), and a sometime Englishman (Lawford) — and they were making a point.2006, Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan, Sinatra: The Life, page 246
  3. (attributive, derogatory, sometimes) LGBT.
    • Similarly, the question of who belongs in such a rainbow alliance isn't set. It can include gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals. It can include people who are 'questioning' which culture they belong to [...]2005, Alan McKee, The public sphere: an introduction, page 167
    • Why do they have to add rainbow propaganda into everything?2026 February 14, @antiwokegameruk [username], X, archived from the original on 16 Feb 2026
  4. Composed entirely of different suits.
  5. Of or pertaining to rainbow tables.
    • rainbow attack

Verb

rainbow (third-person singular simple present rainbows, present participle rainbowing, simple past and past participle rainbowed)

  1. (transitive) To brighten with, or as with, a rainbow; to pattern with the colours of the rainbow.
  2. (intransitive) To take the appearance of a rainbow.
    • We saw birds and butterflies rainbowing in the sun; lazy lizards crawling in the heat; inguanas blinking on stone wall, with mouth wide open for flies; poisonous snakes, not only carved on walls, but gliding through the grass.1917, G[ulian] L[ansing] Morrill, The Devil in Mexico, Minneapolis, MN: [?], page 55
  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.
    • “She's going to learn to belay while I'm climbing? What if I fall?” “You're not going to fall while rainbowing a 5.8, and besides, she'll catch you.” “I could die.” “That would be tragic,” I said. Kaitlyn crossed her arms.2016, Kristin Lenz, Art of Holding On and Letting Go, Elephant Rock Books, →ISBN
    • called “rainbowing.” Different routes were color coordinated. ... Using hand-me-down equipment and learning as much as she could, Brittany began climbing outdoors. She found like-minded people and joined organizations such as Brown ...2021, Ann McCallum Staats, Thrill Seekers: 15 Remarkable Women in Extreme Sports, Chicago Review Press, →ISBN

Noun (2) capitalized: Rainbow

Rainbow (plural Rainbows)

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

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Rainbow

Rainbow

  1. A census-designated place in San Diego County, California, United States.
  2. A town in the Shire of Hindmarsh and the Shire of Yarriambiack, western Victoria, Australia.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Rainbow

Rainbow (plural Rainbows)

  1. A surname.

rainbow meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

rainbow in Hindi

multicoloured arch in the sky
इंद्रधनुष indradhnuṣ, इन्द्रधनुष indradhnuṣ, धनुष dhanuṣ, रामधनुष rāmadhnuṣ, मेघधनु meghadhnu, इंद्रचाप indracāp

rainbow in Tamil

multicoloured arch in the sky
வானவில் vāṉavil

rainbow in Marathi

multicoloured arch in the sky
इंद्रधनुष्य indradhnuṣya

rainbow in Urdu

multicoloured arch in the sky
دَھنِک dhanik, دَھنُش dhanuś, قَوس و قُزَح qaus o quzah, قَوسِ قُزَح qaus-i quzah, ہَفْت رَن٘گ haft raṅg, رَن٘گِین کَمان raṅgīn kamān
More languagesFewer languages
rainbow in Bengali
রংধনু roṅdhonu, রামধনু ramdhonu
rainbow in Telugu
ఇంద్రధనుస్సు indradhanussu, హరివిల్లు harivillu
rainbow in Malayalam
മഴവില്ല് maḻavillŭ, ഇന്ദ്രധനുസ് indradhanusŭ
rainbow in Kannada
ಮಳೆಬಿಲ್ಲು maḷebillu, ಕಾಮನಬಿಲ್ಲು kāmanabillu, ಇಂದ್ರಚಾಪ indracāpa, ಇಂದ್ರಧನುಸ್ಸು indradhanussu
rainbow in Punjabi
ਪੀਂਘ pīṅgh
rainbow in Gujarati
મેઘધનુષ્ય meghadhnuṣya
rainbow in Odia
ଇନ୍ଦ୍ରଧନୁ indradhanu
rainbow in Sanskrit
इन्द्रचापः indracāpaḥ, इन्द्रचाप indracāpa, इन्द्रधनुस् indradhanus
rainbow in Sinhala
දේදුන්නක් dēdunnak
rainbow in Assamese
ৰামধেনু ramdhenu
rainbow in Nepali
इन्द्रेनी indrenī
rainbow in Pashto
شنه زرغونه šna zarghūna
rainbow in Tagalog
bahaghari, bahagsubay, balangaw
rainbow in Arabic
قَوْس قُزَح qaws quzaḥ, قوس قزح ʔōs ʔazaḥ, قوس النبي qaws en-nbī, qūs en-nbī, حزام لالة فاطمة الزهرا ḥzām lālla fāṭima z-zuhra
rainbow in Malay
pelangi, bangun-bangun, benang raja, bianglala
rainbow in Indonesian
pelangi, bianglala
rainbow in Persian
قَوسوقَزَح qaws-u-qazah, قَوسِقَزَح qaws-i-qazah, آدْیَنْدَه ādyanda, آژْفَنْدَاک āžfandāk
rainbow in Thai
รุ้ง rúng, สายรุ้ง sǎai-rúng
rainbow in Vietnamese
cầu vồng, lẹm
rainbow in Myanmar
သက်တံ saktam, သက်တင် saktang, စို့ cui., ရောင်စုံ raungcum
Sindhi
اِنڊِلَٺِ indlath
Dhivehi
ވާރެޑުނި vāreḍuni
Kashmiri
سۄنٛزَل sọnzal, رُدٕ ہارنٛڈ, رمضان بٕدرٕنؠ بوٗنؠ rmzān bụdrụn' būn', رام رام بٔدرِٛن دوٗنؠ

Examples of rainbow in a sentence

  • The 1999 June elections led to a surprise change in the governing coalition from the long-term ruling Christian Democrats to a rainbow group of Greens, Liberals, and Socialists.2007, Melissa Haussman, Birgit Sauer, Gendering the state in the age of globalization, page 67:
  • […] it seemed to me to be naive indeed for the Liberal Democrats to believe that they could simply enter into a rainbow alliance against the Labour Government.2007, Hooson, in a Letter to the Western Mail, 19 June 2007, published in Crossing the Rubicon: coalition politics Welsh style by John...

All 40 example sentences with rainbow

Synonyms of rainbow

All synonyms of rainbow

Forms of rainbow

Noun
pluralrainbows
pluralRainbows
Verb
third-person singular presentrainbows
present participlerainbowing
past participlerainbowed
pastrainbowed
Proper noun
pluralRainbows

Plural of rainbow: rainbows

Origin of rainbow

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”).

From rainbow.

Two main origins: * From an altered form of the Old French personal name Rainbaut, which is composed of the Proto-Germanic elements *raginą (“advice, counsel”) and *balþaz (“strong, bold”). * Translation of German Regenbogen, a Jewish Ashkenazi ornamental surname.

Words formed from rainbow

Phrases with rainbow

56 more phrasesFewer phrases

Questions about rainbow

What does rainbow mean?
Rainbow means a multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain in the air.
What is rainbow in Hindi?
Rainbow in Hindi is इंद्रधनुष (indradhnuṣ), इन्द्रधनुष (indradhnuṣ), धनुष (dhanuṣ). See Rainbow meaning in Hindi.
How do you use rainbow in a sentence?
The 1999 June elections led to a surprise change in the governing coalition from the long-term ruling Christian Democrats to a rainbow group of Greens, Liberals, and Socialists.
What part of speech is rainbow?
Rainbow can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce rainbow?
Rainbow is pronounced /ˈɹeɪnboʊ/ (US).
What is the plural of rainbow?
The plural of rainbow is rainbows.

Words near rainbow in the dictionary

  1. Rainbolt
  2. Rainbolts
  3. rainboot
  4. rainboots
  5. rainbound
  6. rainbow
  7. rainbow ant
  8. rainbow ants
  9. rainbow babies
  10. rainbow baby
  11. rainbow boa

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rainbow (page history and authors); Rainbow (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-rainbow.ogg.

Cite this entry: “rainbow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rainbow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.