rate

¹ American  

[rayt] / reɪt /

noun

• rates
  plural

1. the amount of a charge or payment with reference to some basis of calculation.

   a high rate of interest on loans.

2. a certain quantity or amount of one thing considered in relation to a unit of another thing and used as a standard or measure.

   at the rate of 60 miles an hour.

3. a fixed charge per unit of quantity.

   a rate of 10 cents a pound.

4. price; cost.

   to cut rates on all home furnishings.

5. degree of speed, progress, etc..

   to work at a rapid rate.

   Synonyms:

   tempo, pace

6. degree or comparative extent of action or procedure.

   the rate of increase in work output.

7. relative condition or quality; grade, class, or sort.

8. assigned position in any of a series of graded classes; rating.

9. Insurance. the premium charge per unit of insurance.

10. a charge by a common carrier for transportation, sometimes including certain services involved in rendering such transportation.

11. a wage paid on a specified time basis.

    a salary figured on an hourly rate.

12. a charge or price established in accordance with a scale or standard.

    hotel rates based on length of stay.

13. Horology. the relative adherence of a timepiece to perfect timekeeping, measured in terms of the amount of time gained or lost within a certain period.

14. British. Usually rates.

    1. a tax on property for some local purpose.

    2. any tax assessed and paid to a local government, as any city tax or district tax.

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verb (used with object)

rated, rating

1. to estimate the value or worth of; appraise.

   to rate a student's class performance.

   Synonyms:

   measure, classify, rank

2. to esteem, consider, or account.

   He was rated one of the best writers around.

3. to fix at a certain rate, as of charge or payment.

4. to value for purposes of taxation or the like.

5. to make subject to the payment of a certain rate or tax.

6. to place in a certain rank, class, etc., as a ship or a sailor; give a specific rating to.

7. to be considered or treated as worthy of; merit.

   an event that doesn't even rate a mention in most histories of the period.

8. to arrange for the conveyance of (goods) at a certain rate.

verb (used without object)

rated, rating

1. to have value, standing, etc..

   a performance that didn't rate very high in the competition.

2. to have position in a certain class.

3. to rank very high in estimation.

   The new teacher really rates with our class.

idioms

1. at any rate,

   1. in any event; in any case.

   2. at least.

      It was a mediocre film, but at any rate there was one outstanding individual performance.

rate ² American  

[rayt] / reɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

rated, rating

1. to chide vehemently; scold.

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rate ¹ British  

/ reɪt /

noun

1. a quantity or amount considered in relation to or measured against another quantity or amount

   a rate of 70 miles an hour

2. 1. a price or charge with reference to a standard or scale

      rate of interest

      rate of discount

   2. ( as modifier )

      a rate card

3. a charge made per unit for a commodity, service, etc

4. See rates

5. the relative speed of progress or change of something variable; pace

   he works at a great rate

   the rate of production has doubled

6. 1. relative quality; class or grade

   2. ( in combination )

      first-rate ideas

7. statistics a measure of the frequency of occurrence of a given event, such as births and deaths, usually expressed as the number of times the event occurs for every thousand of the total population considered

8. a wage calculated against a unit of time

9. the amount of gain or loss of a timepiece

10. in any case; at all events; anyway

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verb

1. (also intr) to assign or receive a position on a scale of relative values; rank

   he is rated fifth in the world

2. to estimate the value of; evaluate

   we rate your services highly

3. to be worthy of; deserve

   this hotel does not rate four stars

4. to consider; regard

   I rate him among my friends

5. to assess the value of (property) for the purpose of local taxation

6. slang to think highly of

   the clients do not rate the new system

rate ² British  

/ reɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to scold or criticize severely; rebuke harshly

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rate More Idioms  

1. see at any rate; at this rate; x-rated.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rater
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rate¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English noun rate “monetary amount, value, estimated amount, proportional part,” from Old French rate and Medieval Latin rata, from Latin (prō) ratā (parte) “(according to) an estimated (part),” ratā ablative singular of rata, feminine of ratus, past participle of rērī “to judge”; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of rate²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English raten, araten; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Norwegian rata “to reject, cast aside”; or from Old French rateir, raiter, reter “to find fault with, blame”

Explanation

When you pay a high rate, you pay a lot of money. When you move at a high rate of speed, you go fast. If you are a judge at a contest, you rate the contestants. It's interesting how one word can have different origins for different meanings. For example, the noun rate, referring to amounts comes from the Latin rata, “a fixed amount.” But the verb rate seems to come from the Scandinavian rata, "to reject." If the person you are dating asks you to rate them against your previous partners, you might change the subject at a high rate of speed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rate rates rated rating

MAS monetary policy is centered on the exchange rate owing to Singapore’s small and open economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

A slower rate of rate hikes will ease anxieties in the credit markets, which have gotten angsty recently with the sharp rise in yields, Holzenthaler says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

He has scored five hat-tricks in an England career which includes 110 starts, with a 66% win rate.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

“Add to that additional rate hikes by the Fed and Bank of England until the year-end, and the bull market in equities could come to an abrupt end sooner than many expect,” Klement said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

At this rate it would be hours before they even got onto the highway.

From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis

Just a few weeks ago, yields were rising much faster on short-term Treasurys than long-term Treasurys, reflecting escalating expectations for how high the Federal Reserve will raise short-term interest rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

But polling groups such as Datafolha, one of Brazil's most respected institutes, suggest that this election has been a battle of rejection rates.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

That has rattled bond investors at a time when interest rates -- and hence borrowing costs -- are rising in developed economies worldwide to combat inflation.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

The illness is highly fatal, with average fatality rates approaching 100%.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

“The Warren rates this place a five-out-of-five-paws difficulty.”

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Not rated Running time: 1 hour, 58 minutes Playing: Opens Friday, Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Moody’s rated the capital structure Ba1, or the highest “junk”-rated category, while S&P Global and Fitch gave it at BBB- rating, the lowest rung in the investment-grade category.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Participants rated the musical versions as significantly less annoying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Here's how we rated England's players - and you can have your say in the comments at the bottom.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Before he was to play his first game, Bobby was rated at 2298, making him among the top ten active players in the country.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

He began his second term as president with an approval rating of just over 50%, according to polling resource website Silver Bulletin, but in early October it was sitting at about 37%.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

EA also sought a score from Fitch Ratings, which initially said it expected a high-quality grade for the bonds before saying in June that it wouldn’t deliver a final rating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

But even as Nixon’s overall approval rating sank to 24% during the week before his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, Republicans — 62% of them — still supported him.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

He has three touchdowns, four interceptions and a ho-hum passer rating of 73.4 after never finishing a season with a rating lower than 93.2.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Tropical storm Carlotta has been upgraded to a Beaufort rating of 10 with sustained winds of 50 knots.

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin

Related Words

• appraise
• assess
• calculate
• consider
• count
• deem
• determine
• estimate
• evaluate
• grade
• peg
• rank
• regard
• score