interest rate
Americannoun
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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.
A Meta-backed data-center project priced a $12.55 billion bond offering at a higher interest rate than a similar deal last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Oil prices eased pressure on bond yields ahead of the Fed’s interest rate decision next week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Meanwhile, government bond yields jumped with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries hitting an 18-month high, and expectations of interest rate hikes have risen.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Add a 3% real interest rate to roughly 7% inflation generated by rapid wage growth and the arithmetic becomes uncomfortable.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“The company's going to loan them the money, almost no interest rate, twenty years to pay.”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
