interest rate
Americannoun
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interest rates
plural
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Business. the amount that a lender charges a borrower for taking out a loan, for maintaining a balance on debt, etc.: typically expressed as an annual percentage of the loan balance.
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Banking. the amount earned on a savings, checking, or money market account, or on an investment, such as a certificate of deposit or bond: typically expressed as an annual percentage of the account balance or investment sum.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of interest rate
First recorded in 1885–90
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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 European Central Bank raised its key interest rate twice this year as it sought to put a lid on the acceleration of energy prices spreading to other parts of the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
"The overwhelming consensus, the overwhelming judgement, is that what we've done in this monetary medicine is starting to work some," Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said, referring to September's interest rate rise.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
“If you’re just looking for a card with the lowest possible interest rate, and you’re not looking at credit-union credit cards, you’re probably missing an opportunity.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Two dissenting members of the panel voted for an immediate interest rate increase.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
He recited the line from memory: “‘The Lomas Financial Corporation is a perfectly hedged financial institution: it loses money in every conceivable interest rate environment.’
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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