credit rating

American  

noun

1. a classification of credit risk based on investigation of a customer's or potential customer's financial resources, prior payment pattern, and personal history or degree of personal responsibility for debts incurred.

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credit rating British  

noun

1. an evaluation of the creditworthiness of an individual or business enterprise

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credit rating Cultural  

1. An evaluation of the financial trustworthiness of an individual, firm, or government.

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Etymology

Origin of credit rating

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

On Thursday, Moody's downgraded its credit rating for South East Water, citing the "fallout" from supply failures and "continued resilience risk the company faces".

From BBC • May 31, 2026

The credit rating agency believes the risk has graduated from a cryptocurrency-specific problem to a broader threat affecting banks and custodians.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

She also wants to partner with financial institutions to develop a system for unbanked individuals, meaning those who don’t use traditional banks or credit unions, to start earning a credit rating and score.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

But Merck has spent roughly $25 billion on acquisitions in the past year, leaving little room for a megadeal without threatening its investment-grade credit rating.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Nina Chandler Murray, an eighty-five-year-old relative of the Poor family of Standard & Poor’s, the investment credit rating firm, is convinced that the world of the elite was more genteel in the old days.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times