downpour

Everyday

1. A downpour is a very heavy fall of rain that comes down suddenly. tree →
2. (figurative) A downpour of something is a lot of it coming at once. tree →

In the lessons

Weather and geography lessons (rainfall, floods); everyday safety (shelter, flash floods, slippery roads); in stories a downpour soaks characters or changes the mood. Phrases: sudden downpour, heavy downpour, caught in a downpour.

Examples

• We were caught in a downpour on the way home. tree →
• The sudden downpour flooded the playground. tree →
• Sports day stopped because of a downpour. tree →
• During the downpour we sheltered under a tree, but not in a thunderstorm. tree →
• The downpour lasted only ten minutes. tree →
• After the downpour the air smelled fresh. tree →

Note

Countable: a downpour. Stronger than shower or drizzle. Safety: in a thunderstorm do not shelter under a lone tree. In a maths problem rainfall in a downpour is often measured in millimetres per hour.