# rainbow

Pronunciation: say "RAYN-boh" US /ˈɹeɪnboʊ/, UK /ˈɹeɪnbəʊ/

## Noun

1. An arch of spectrum colors seen in the sky when sunlight is refracted and split by raindrops, or any similar display of these colors, as made by a prism.
   - Simple: A curved band of colors in the sky, or similar colors made when light passes through raindrops, glass, or a prism.
   - _A double rainbow arched over the valley as the storm moved east._
   - _After the shower passed, the kids ran outside to look for rainbows._
3. A rainbow trout.
   - Simple: A rainbow trout, a kind of fish.
   - _He landed a three-pound rainbow on his second cast._
   - _The state stocks the lake with rainbows every spring._
5. A wide, varied assortment of things or people.
   - Simple: A large group of many different kinds of things.
   - _The night market offers a rainbow of street food from across Southeast Asia._
   - _The festival drew a rainbow of performers, from jugglers to jazz bands._
7. Something that looks real or within reach but is only an illusion, like a mirage.
   - Simple: Something that seems real but is not really there.
   - _The promise of a quick fortune was a rainbow that faded the moment he put his savings in._
   - _He spent his twenties chasing rainbows, always sure the next scheme would make him rich._
9. In baseball, a curveball, especially a slow one.
   - Simple: In baseball, a pitch that curves, especially a slow one.
   - _She dropped a looping rainbow over the outside corner for strike three._
   - _Hitters who sit on fastballs look foolish against his rainbows._
10. In soccer, a trick in which a player uses both feet to send the ball arcing over an opponent's head.
   - Simple: A soccer trick where a player uses both feet to lift the ball over another player's head.
   - _The winger beat his marker with a cheeky rainbow and then crossed for the goal._
   - _Pulling off a rainbow in a real match takes nerve and perfect timing._
12. In Texas hold 'em or Omaha hold 'em, a flop whose three cards are all of different suits. *(slang)*
   - Simple: In some poker games, a flop where all three cards are different suits.
   - _The flop came a rainbow, ace, eight, three, and she pushed all her chips in._
   - _In Omaha, a rainbow leaves any flush draw needing help on both the turn and the river._

## Adjective

2. Having many colors, especially colors arranged in the order they appear in a rainbow.
   - Simple: Having many colors, often in the same order as the colors of a rainbow.
   - _She wore a rainbow scarf knitted in stripes running from red to violet._
   - _The birthday cake was covered in rainbow sprinkles._
4. Relating to LGBT people or the LGBT community.
   - Simple: Having to do with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
   - _The city's rainbow community packed the square for the opening of Pride week._
   - _Several rainbow families joined the school's parent association this year._
6. Having members from several racial or ethnic backgrounds, or from different cultural or ideological groups.
   - Simple: Made up of people from many races or cultures, or from groups with different ideas.
   - _The candidate built a rainbow coalition of Black, Latino, Asian American, and white working-class voters._
   - _The new city council is run by a rainbow alliance of progressives, libertarians, and old-school moderates._
11. In poker, especially of a flop, made up of cards that are all of different suits.
   - Simple: In poker, having cards that are all from different suits.
   - _A rainbow flop of king, nine, four gave the player holding two kings little to fear._
   - _On a rainbow board, a flush is possible only if the turn and river both match a flop suit._

## Verb

8. To color something with the hues of a rainbow, or to shine or shimmer with many colors like a rainbow.
   - Simple: To give something rainbow colors, or to shine with many bright colors like a rainbow.
   - _Spray from the waterfall rainbowed the rocks in the afternoon light._
   - _In the late afternoon, sunlight passing through the stained glass would rainbow the stone floor of the hall._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A person who belongs to the LGBT community.
- (adjective) In cryptography, relating to or making use of rainbow tables.
- (verb) In a climbing gym where the holds are colored to mark suggested routes, to climb on holds of different colors, ignoring the routes.

## Origin

Old English reġnboga ("rainbow") became Middle English reynbowe or raynbowe. It goes back through Proto-West Germanic *regnabogō and Proto-Germanic *regnabugô, and it amounts to rain plus bow in the sense of "arch." West Frisian reinbôge, Dutch regenboog, German Regenbogen, Danish regnbue, Swedish regnbåge and Icelandic regnbogi all mean "rainbow" and are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rainbow (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).