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heavy rain — a lot of rain

collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcore

Rain that falls in large amounts, making everything very wet in a short time.

Say it like a native

Textbook There was a high volume of precipitation overnight.

Native There was heavy rain overnight.

'Heavy rain' is the standard phrase; 'high volume of precipitation' is a weather report.

Pattern: heavy rain (uncountable noun)

In use

  • We had to cancel the picnic because of heavy rain.daily life
  • During my trip to London, I experienced heavy rain almost every afternoon, which made sightseeing a bit difficult.IELTS speaking

Common mistake

✗ There was a strong rain.

✓ There was heavy rain.

Rain is 'heavy', not 'strong' (wind is 'strong').

Common collocations

  • heavy rain — heavy, torrential, in the rain, due to

Don't confuse it

Compare with 'light rain', which means only a little rain.

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