What is the difference between rain and precipitation?

• Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the Earth. Precipitation forms in the clouds when water vapour condenses into bigger and bigger droplets of water. When the drops are heavy enough, they fall to the Earth. If a cloud is colder, like it would be at higher altitudes, the water droplets may freeze to form ice. These ice crystals then fall to the Earth as snow, hail, or rain, depending on the temperature within the cloud and at the Earth’s surface.
• The precipitation in the form of water is called rain. When the temperature is lower than 0 degrees Celsius (0°C), precipitation takes place in the form of fine flakes of snow and is called snowfall.

Further Reading:

• Composition of the Atmosphere
• Evaporation And Condensation