verb phrase🎓 English idiom

take a rain check

to politely postpone an invitation

What it means

To politely decline an invitation or offer for now while suggesting you'd like to accept it another time. It softens a refusal by implying the plan is only postponed, not cancelled.

Examples

  • I'm exhausted tonight, so can I take a rain check on dinner?
  • Thanks for the invite, but I'll have to take a rain check this weekend.
  • She took a rain check on the concert because she had to work late.
  • Let's take a rain check on coffee and try again next Friday instead.

Where it comes from

From 19th-century American baseball, where a 'rain check' was a ticket stub letting spectators attend a future game if rain cancelled the current one.

Related idioms

#cross that bridge when you come to it#play it by ear#not my cup of tea#sit tight

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