Rain Check Definition

noun

The stub of a ticket to a ballgame or other outdoor event, entitling the holder to be admitted at a future date if the original event is rained out.

Webster's New World

An offer to renew or defer an unaccepted invitation or offer.

Webster's New World

A coupon, issued by a store to a customer, which guarantees that an item that is on sale at a reduced price but has been sold out may be purchased by that customer in the future at the lower price.

Webster's New World

(idiomatic) In social interactions, a polite way to turn down an invitation, with the implication one is simply postponing it and that another time would be acceptable.

I can't go with you to the museum this Saturday, but can I take a rain check and go some other day?

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Rain Check

Noun

Singular:

rain check

Plural:

rain-checks

Origin of Rain Check

The expression may have originated in the era of open-air markets where the occurrence of significant rain usually required a vendor to pack up their goods and leave. The term may also be based on the issuing of tickets to claim property such as a coat or hat check. Before 1889, US baseball fans were issued a new ticket if rain was heavy enough to cause a game to be postponed. Abner Powell added a detachable stub called a rain check that year. This quickly became a standard practice for all major league teams.

From Wiktionary