“Rain” or “Reign” or “Rein”

rain / reign / rein are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

rain r·EY·n

nounwater falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere.
noundrops of fresh water that fall as precipitation from clouds.
nounanything happening rapidly or in quick successive.
verbprecipitate as rain.

reign r·EY·n

nouna period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful.
nounthe period during which a monarch is sovereign.
nounroyal authority; the dominion of a monarch.
verbhave sovereign power.

rein r·EY·n

nounone of a pair of long straps (usually connected to the bit or the headpiece) used to control a horse.
nounany means of control.
verbstop or slow up one's horse or oneself by or as if by pulling the reins.
verbstop or check by or as if by a pull at the reins.

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“rain”

…fried hot dog" after a rain storm in Rockaway Beach, Oregon…
…is called "Xi chuan sweet rain pavilion", built to commemorate the…
…a British city in torrential rain as the band walk around…
Heavy rain caused flooding in parts of…
…it that Fang's prayer for rain came true, then folks built…
…mainly by splashing water or rain.
Heavy rain fell around this time, and…
…that is interspersed with digital rain drop sound effects and strong
…gone 46 days without measurable rain, twelve more than the previous…
Heavy rain in Mexico triggered many landslides,…

“reign”

During the reign of Qingli in northern song…
…Oak King and commences his reign.
…is dated 1596, in the reign of Elizabeth I, and the…
…were penetrated early in Ibbi-Sin's reign.
In Jiajing's reign of Ming dynasty, barracks were…
…fifth year (1053) of Huangyou's reign, another Quanzhou local, Wangshi, capped…
…fourth year (1059) of Jiayou's reign, the construction of Luoyang bridge…
During Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik's reign, the Umayyad government appointed Mudaris…
…8th year (1138) of Shaoxing's reign in southern song dynasty was…
During Chongzhen's reign, Japanese pirates almost disappeared, and…

“rein”

…and thus give Austria free rein to attempt to thwart Prussia's…
Bo Rein perished in a plane crash…
127 - Mitch Rein
…F. Restuccia, M. Gramola, G. Rein, Experimental Study of the Formation…
…at the mouthpiece for the rein, with an upper cheek that…
…reckless, but was unwilling to rein him in largely because his…
During his rein, it seems that some Koni…
…of the mouth opposite the rein that is activated, pushing the…
…"Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell", with free rein to do the episode as…
Rein Welschen becomes mayor.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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