interest rate

American  

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

noun

Finance.

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.

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interest rate Cultural  

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

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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

“I don’t think they need to increase interest rates,” said Vania Stavrakeva, an assistant professor of economics at London Business School.

From The Wall Street Journal

In turn, he anticipates that higher-for-longer interest rates would depress the price of gold.

From Barron's

But markets were contending with something else entirely: high inflation and a Federal Reserve hiking interest rates.

From MarketWatch

First, they are pricing Fed Reserve interest rate cuts, consistent with the less-than-conventional historical impact that wars have had on Fed policy.

From The Wall Street Journal

The more monetary policy-sensitive 2-year note had popped up to 3.64% as investors reasoned that the prospect of burgeoning inflation would reduce the Federal Reserve’s ability to cut interest rates later this year.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• interest