a bow or arc of prismatic colors appearing in the heavens opposite the sun and caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in drops of rain.Compare primary rainbow, secondary rainbow.
a similar bow of colors, especially one appearing in the spray of a waterfall or fountain.
any brightly multicolored arrangement or display.
a wide variety or range; gamut.
a visionary goal: He pursued the rainbow of a singing career for years before becoming a success.
rainbow trout.
adjective
having a diverse membership; including representatives from multiple identity groups, as those indentifying variously by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation: Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously described postapartheid South Africa as a rainbow nation.LGBTQ Pride month celebrates all of the rainbow community.Candidates are appealing to a rainbow coalition of minority voters.
Origin of rainbow
First recorded before 1000; Middle English reinbowe, Old English regnboga, rēnboga; cognate with Old Norse regnbogi, German Regenbogen; see rain, bow2
Following Szutowicz’s arrest, many protesters have been displaying rainbow flags across the city, and are subsequently being arrested for those actions.
All the colors in the rainbow—and your t-shirt drawer, as it so happens.
Scientists Gene-Hack Cotton Plants to Make Them Every Color of the Rainbow|Jason Dorrier|August 11, 2020|Singularity Hub
They gave away over 200 hundreds of rainbow masks in each spot.
They Gave Away Rainbow Masks In “LGBT Free Zones” In Poland|LGBTQ-Editor|May 26, 2020|No Straight News
That’s why, when you see a double rainbow, the secondary arc is much dimmer and its colors are flipped.
Explainer: Rainbows, fogbows and their eerie cousins|Matthew Cappucci|May 1, 2020|Science News For Students
I noticed when I went over to the chemistry department that a lot of the professors had stickers on their doors with a rainbow or triangle that said that they were LGBTQ allies.
Weight lifting is this planetary scientist’s pastime|Bryn Nelson|March 10, 2020|Science News For Students
Here and there, sparingly, one of the dolls might be purple or green: “Rainbow Piets,” they call them.
Dutch Try to Save Santa’s Slave|Nadette De Visser|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
David Bowie, Ronnie Wood, and Marianne Faithfull were regulars at the Rainbow Room, a restaurant on the fifth floor.
Barbara Hulanicki, Queen of Fast Fashion|Lizzie Crocker|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because the marketing of the screening included a rainbow flag and said it was to be the kickoff of “LGBT Awareness Month.”
Catholic University’s Harvey Milk Ban Reflects A Church In Transition|Jay Michaelson|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The turn-of-the-century stretch that yielded The Rainbow Children and N.E.W.S. is particularly easy to ignore.
Prince Returns From the Wilderness and, Thankfully, Is as Restless as Ever|Keith Phipps|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2010, alongside PAPER Magazine, FWY and Pharrell created Rainbow City at Art Basel Miami Beach.
New York City’s New Mystery Art Piece|Sara Sayed|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is always more of rainbow than of storm in his skies; their darkest shadow is but a tragic twilight.
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Words related to rainbow
variegation, curve, bow, prism, arc, crescent
Cultural definitions for rainbow
rainbow
The colored arch in the sky that is often seen after a rain. The rainbow is formed when water droplets in the air cause the diffraction of sunlight.
notes for rainbow
The colors of the rainbow are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.
An arc-shaped spectrum of color seen in the sky opposite the Sun, especially after rain, caused by the refraction and reflection of sunlight by droplets of water suspended in the air. Secondary rainbows that are larger and paler sometimes appear within the primary arc with the colors reversed (red being inside). These result from two reflections and refractions of a light ray inside a droplet.