prime rate

American

noun

Banking.

the minimum interest rate charged by a commercial bank on short-term business loans to large, best-rated customers or corporations.

prime rate British

noun

the lowest commercial interest rate charged by a bank at a particular time

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

prime rate Cultural

The interest rate that banks charge to corporations that are considered excellent risks.

Discover More

The prime rate is usually the lowest prevailing interest rate; if it rises, rates available to consumers will soon rise.

Etymology

Origin of prime rate

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Bank of Japan’s prime rate remains at 0.75%, depressing bond yields that might suck more capital in.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

DBS’s economics team expects the 1-year loan prime rate to remain at 3.00%, as policymakers gauge January-February data to assess the impact of previous easing measures.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

It has steadily increased since 2022, mostly because of an increase in the prime rate, the benchmark for card issuers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026

China’s central bank kept its 1-year loan prime rate unchanged on Tuesday but cut its 5-year rate by 25 basis points to 3.95%.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 19, 2024

The prime rate has been cut almost in half, and we must work together to bring it down even more.

From State of the Union Address by Reagan, Ronald

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023