interest rate

American  

[in-ter-ist reyt, -trist] / ˈɪn tər ɪst ˌreɪt, -trɪst /

noun

Finance.

interest rates plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

---

interest rate Cultural  

1. The usual way of calculating interest — as a percentage of the sum borrowed.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• interest rates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of interest rate

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

How does interest-rate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• discount rate vs. interest rate

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

interest rate

Lee looked up the average interest rate on car loans on his phone and saw that it was closer to 4% for new cars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

Rate locks are an agreement between the buyer and lender that guarantees an interest rate for a set period of time between making an offer on a house and closing on the home.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

—The dollar edged higher as it recovers from recent falls driven by a trimming of U.S. interest rate rise expectations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Asian stocks rose Friday as tech firms enjoyed a much-needed reprieve from the heavy selling of recent weeks, with a big miss on US jobs creation soothing worries over a Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 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

Related Words

• interest