It means to delay something, or put it off for another time. If someone invites you to dinner, and you have another obligation, for example, but you'd really like to honor the invite, you say, "I'd love to come, but I can't make it on Tuesday. Can I take a raincheck? And no, it doesn't work on a job.
I'll take a rain check An expression indicating that one is refusing an offer or invitation but with the hope or promise that it can be postponed or accepted at a later date or time. I'm sorry, but I'll take a rain check for dinner this Saturday. Would next weekend work for you? See also: check , rain , take.
It only takes a minute to sign up. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. The literal sense of rain check, which is an Americanism, is first found in the s in reference to a baseball game. The practice of giving a rain check to a ticketholder was formalized in in the constitution of the National League.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rain check. Send us feedback. See more words from the same year.