cloudburst — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A sudden heavy rainstorm.

   Examples

   [B]ut the sound . . . expressed an utter abandonment to grief; not the cloud-burst of some passing emotion, but the slow down-pour of a whole heaven of sorrow.

   A cloudburst in the China Creek district followed by continued heavy rains was responsible for the increased water.

   More examples (2)

   In Uniontown, Pa., John Walchesky & family rushed from their house when lightning set it afire, rushed in again when a cloudburst put out the blaze.

   [H]e walked across the lawn, wet from a fleeting late-afternoon cloudburst, the first rain in a month.

2. A sudden downfall or shortcoming.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   "[...] [T]his great storm of a beating would rain down on our backs?" "Yours, at least, Sancho," replied Don Quixote, "must be accustomed to such cloudbursts; but mine, brought up on cambric and fine Dutch linen, of course will feel more deeply the pain of this misfortune.

Noun

1. a heavy rain

   Synonyms

   downpourdelugewaterspouttorrentpeltersoaker

   Broader terms

   rainrainfall