PRECIPITATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does precipitation mean? 

• PRECIPITATION (noun)
  The noun PRECIPITATION has 6 senses:

1. the quantity of water falling to earth at a specific place within a specified period of time

2. the process of forming a chemical precipitate

3. the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist)

4. the act of casting down or falling headlong from a height

5. an unexpected acceleration or hastening

6. overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)

  Familiarity information: PRECIPITATION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PRECIPITATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The quantity of water falling to earth at a specific place within a specified period of time

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Context example:

the storm brought several inches of precipitation

Hypernyms ("precipitation" is a kind of...):

indefinite quantity (an estimated quantity)

Derivation:

precipitate (fall from clouds)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The process of forming a chemical precipitate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("precipitation" is a kind of...):

chemical action; chemical change; chemical process ((chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved)

Derivation:

precipitate (separate as a fine suspension of solid particles)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

downfall; precipitation

Hypernyms ("precipitation" is a kind of...):

atmospheric condition; conditions; weather; weather condition (the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation)

Meronyms (parts of "precipitation"):

diamond dust; frost mist; frost snow; ice crystal; ice needle; poudrin; snow mist (small crystals of ice)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "precipitation"):

fine spray (precipitation in very small drops)

hail (precipitation of ice pellets when there are strong rising air currents)

rain; rainfall (water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere)

sleet (partially melted snow (or a mixture of rain and snow))

snow; snowfall (precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals)

virga (light wispy precipitation that evaporates before it reaches the ground (especially when the lower air is low in humidity))

Derivation:

precipitate (fall from clouds)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of casting down or falling headlong from a height

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("precipitation" is a kind of...):

drop; fall (a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity)

Derivation:

precipitate (hurl or throw violently)

precipitate (fall vertically, sharply, or headlong)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An unexpected acceleration or hastening

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

he is responsible for the precipitation of his own demise

Hypernyms ("precipitation" is a kind of...):

acceleration (an increase in rate of change)

Derivation:

precipitate (hurl or throw violently)

precipitate (bring about abruptly)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

haste; hastiness; hurriedness; hurry; precipitation

Context example:

he soon regretted his haste

Hypernyms ("precipitation" is a kind of...):

fastness; speed; swiftness (a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "precipitation"):

abruptness; precipitance; precipitancy; precipitateness; precipitousness; suddenness (the quality of happening with headlong haste or without warning)

 Context examples 

This study provides a pathway for improving predictions of future precipitation change.

(NASA Data Suggest Future May Be Rainier Than Expected, NASA)

The Hubble observations represent the first time astronomers have detected this precipitation process, called a "cold trap," on an exoplanet.

(Hubble Observes Exoplanet that Snows Sunscreen, NASA)

The slight excess of alpha units are blocked from precipitation by a molecular chaperone, AHSP, alpha-hemoglobin stabilizing protein.

(Hemoglobin Chaperone Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Antigen aggregation with antibody, in the right ratios, to cause precipitation.

(Immunoprecipitation, NCI Thesaurus)

Scorching temperatures, low precipitation, strong sunlight and low wind speeds allow heat and poor-quality air to stagnate in a given location for an extended period of time.

(Dangers of Concurrent Heat Waves, Air Pollution, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The precipitation total for the month was 0.34 inch above normal.

(2016 was 2nd warmest year on record for U.S., NOAA)

The delay in sea ice freeze-up could be changing the way that heat is transported in the Arctic, which would, in turn, affect precipitation patterns.

(Snow cover on Arctic Sea ice has thinned 30 to 50 percent, NASA)

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite can measure precipitation from space.

(France's Flooding Rains Examined by NASA’s IMERG, NASA)

It was a foolish precipitation last Christmas, but the evil of a few days may be blotted out in part.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

The advantage of using 8.2 Fab fragments over whole antibodies is that they have reduced immunogenicity, better penetration of tissues, rapid clearance from the body and that they do not induce precipitation.

(Monoclonal Antibody 8.2 F(ab), NCI Thesaurus)