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.
“Supervisory staff did not take prompt and decisive action to encourage or require SVB to reduce its interest rate risk or concentration of vulnerabilities,” a published text of her remarks says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The national average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage loan has increased from 6.15% at the end of 2025, according to data compiled by Freddie Mac.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
He purchased the building on 23rd Street, according to public records, in the 1970s, taking out a $150,000 mortgage on the property at an 8 percent interest rate.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
Japan's central bank has raised its main interest rate to a fresh 31-year high as it continues to move away from decades of ultra-low borrowing costs and as the country faces increasing economic pressures.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
