base rate

American  

noun

1. the rate of pay per unit of time, as by the hour, or per piece, or for work performed at an established standard rate.

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base rate British  

noun

1. the rate of interest used by individual commercial banks as a basis for their lending rates

2. informal the rate at which the Bank of England lends to the discount houses, which effectively controls the interest rates charged throughout the banking system

3. statistics the average number of times an event occurs divided by the average number of times on which it might occur

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Etymology

Origin of base rate

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

base rate

Annie Duke: The starting point is what I call the base rate.

From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026

Mortgage lender, Gary Tumelty, said people were "starting to get nervous" and rushing to secure mortgage deals now, due to the prospect of the Bank of England base rate being increased later in the year.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

The base rate is the Bank's primary tool in controlling inflation, which charts the annual rise in prices of goods and services.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

Portfolio yields—and profit coverage of dividend payouts—slipped more steeply, because the base rate underlying the floating-rate loans dropped as the Fed eased interest rates.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

Their counterparts today are paid a monthly base rate of $592 and $800.

From The Civil War Centennial Handbook by Price, William H.