teɪk ə reɪn tʃek
General
informal
beginner
- Literally:
- Receiving a ticket for a rained-out event
What does "take a rain check" mean?
- To postpone accepting an offer until later
- To decline now but reserve the option for the future
Examples
- Can I take a rain check on dinner? I'm swamped tonight.
- I'll take a rain check on that drink—maybe next week?
- She took a rain check on the movie invitation.
Origin
From 1880s American baseball—spectators received 'rain checks' to attend a future game if the current one was rained out.
How to use it
Polite way to decline without rejecting. Very common in North American English.
Similar expressions
postpone
reschedule
defer
put off
Opposites
accept immediately
decline permanently
Related idioms
- actions speak louder than words
What people do is more important than what they say
- better safe than sorry
It's better to be careful and prevent problems than to take risks
- so far so good
Things have gone well up to now
- easier said than done
Something is more difficult to do than to talk about
- make a long story short
To summarize or get to the point
- to make matters worse
In addition to existing problems
Use it in a practice answer
Try "take a rain check" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.