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

It has a lower investment-grade credit rating, more debt and is burning cash.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed the Emirates’ AA/A-1+ sovereign credit rating, citing our fiscal depth, diversified growth engines and proven ability to protect investments, even in crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

But as Blue Owl began syndicating the debt financing to institutional investors, some lenders declined to participate and cited CoreWeave’s credit rating as a key reason, Business Insider reported.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 20, 2026

CoreWeave has a B+ credit rating from S&P Global Ratings, meaning that the company’s debt is rated four notches below the investment-grade threshold.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 20, 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