rainmaker
noun
rain·mak·er
ˈrān-ˌmā-kər 
1
: a person who produces or attempts to produce rain by artificial means
2
: a person (such as a partner in a law firm) who brings in new business
also
: a person whose influence can initiate progress or ensure success
Examples of rainmaker in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The emphasis on the West Coast has also meant that atmospheric rivers have been studied less in other parts of the country, where hurricanes and summer thunderstorms are also big rainmakers and get a lot of the attention.
—
Amy Graff, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The studio’s longtime box-office rainmaker Christopher Nolan, meanwhile, decamped to Universal to make his next billion-dollar movie, Oppenheimer.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
Matty is assigned to Olympia, a senior attorney and key rainmaker with a thirst for justice.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 5 Apr. 2025
The hiring spree paid off, with a surge in the firm’s revenue and in profits per partner—even as the new cadre of rainmakers took home salaries in the range of twenty million dollars.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rainmaker
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Amy Graff, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The studio’s longtime box-office rainmaker Christopher Nolan, meanwhile, decamped to Universal to make his next billion-dollar movie, Oppenheimer.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
Matty is assigned to Olympia, a senior attorney and key rainmaker with a thirst for justice.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 5 Apr. 2025
The hiring spree paid off, with a surge in the firm’s revenue and in profits per partner—even as the new cadre of rainmakers took home salaries in the range of twenty million dollars.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rainmaker
Cite this Entry
“Rainmaker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rainmaker. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
rainmaker
noun
rain·mak·er
ˈrān-ˌmā-kər
: a person (as a partner in a law firm) who brings in new business
rainmaking
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share