rate

¹ American  

[rayt] / reɪt /

noun

• rates
  plural

1. the amount of a charge or payment with reference to some basis of calculation.

   a high rate of interest on loans.

2. a certain quantity or amount of one thing considered in relation to a unit of another thing and used as a standard or measure.

   at the rate of 60 miles an hour.

3. a fixed charge per unit of quantity.

   a rate of 10 cents a pound.

4. price; cost.

   to cut rates on all home furnishings.

5. degree of speed, progress, etc..

   to work at a rapid rate.

   Synonyms:

   tempo, pace

6. degree or comparative extent of action or procedure.

   the rate of increase in work output.

7. relative condition or quality; grade, class, or sort.

8. assigned position in any of a series of graded classes; rating.

9. Insurance. the premium charge per unit of insurance.

10. a charge by a common carrier for transportation, sometimes including certain services involved in rendering such transportation.

11. a wage paid on a specified time basis.

    a salary figured on an hourly rate.

12. a charge or price established in accordance with a scale or standard.

    hotel rates based on length of stay.

13. Horology. the relative adherence of a timepiece to perfect timekeeping, measured in terms of the amount of time gained or lost within a certain period.

14. British. Usually rates.

    1. a tax on property for some local purpose.

    2. any tax assessed and paid to a local government, as any city tax or district tax.

---

verb (used with object)

rated, rating

1. to estimate the value or worth of; appraise.

   to rate a student's class performance.

   Synonyms:

   measure, classify, rank

2. to esteem, consider, or account.

   He was rated one of the best writers around.

3. to fix at a certain rate, as of charge or payment.

4. to value for purposes of taxation or the like.

5. to make subject to the payment of a certain rate or tax.

6. to place in a certain rank, class, etc., as a ship or a sailor; give a specific rating to.

7. to be considered or treated as worthy of; merit.

   an event that doesn't even rate a mention in most histories of the period.

8. to arrange for the conveyance of (goods) at a certain rate.

verb (used without object)

rated, rating

1. to have value, standing, etc..

   a performance that didn't rate very high in the competition.

2. to have position in a certain class.

3. to rank very high in estimation.

   The new teacher really rates with our class.

idioms

1. at any rate,

   1. in any event; in any case.

   2. at least.

      It was a mediocre film, but at any rate there was one outstanding individual performance.

rate ² American  

[rayt] / reɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

rated, rating

1. to chide vehemently; scold.

---

rate ¹ British  

/ reɪt /

noun

1. a quantity or amount considered in relation to or measured against another quantity or amount

   a rate of 70 miles an hour

2. 1. a price or charge with reference to a standard or scale

      rate of interest

      rate of discount

   2. ( as modifier )

      a rate card

3. a charge made per unit for a commodity, service, etc

4. See rates

5. the relative speed of progress or change of something variable; pace

   he works at a great rate

   the rate of production has doubled

6. 1. relative quality; class or grade

   2. ( in combination )

      first-rate ideas

7. statistics a measure of the frequency of occurrence of a given event, such as births and deaths, usually expressed as the number of times the event occurs for every thousand of the total population considered

8. a wage calculated against a unit of time

9. the amount of gain or loss of a timepiece

10. in any case; at all events; anyway

---

verb

1. (also intr) to assign or receive a position on a scale of relative values; rank

   he is rated fifth in the world

2. to estimate the value of; evaluate

   we rate your services highly

3. to be worthy of; deserve

   this hotel does not rate four stars

4. to consider; regard

   I rate him among my friends

5. to assess the value of (property) for the purpose of local taxation

6. slang to think highly of

   the clients do not rate the new system

rate ² British  

/ reɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to scold or criticize severely; rebuke harshly

---

rate More Idioms  

1. see at any rate; at this rate; x-rated.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rater
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rate¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English noun rate “monetary amount, value, estimated amount, proportional part,” from Old French rate and Medieval Latin rata, from Latin (prō) ratā (parte) “(according to) an estimated (part),” ratā ablative singular of rata, feminine of ratus, past participle of rērī “to judge”; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of rate²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English raten, araten; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Norwegian rata “to reject, cast aside”; or from Old French rateir, raiter, reter “to find fault with, blame”

Explanation

When you pay a high rate, you pay a lot of money. When you move at a high rate of speed, you go fast. If you are a judge at a contest, you rate the contestants. It's interesting how one word can have different origins for different meanings. For example, the noun rate, referring to amounts comes from the Latin rata, “a fixed amount.” But the verb rate seems to come from the Scandinavian rata, "to reject." If the person you are dating asks you to rate them against your previous partners, you might change the subject at a high rate of speed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rate rates rated rating

Here they are, with projected sales compound annual growth rate from 2026 through 2028 and expected FCF headroom over the next 12 months:

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

That’s the highest special-servicing rate since February 2013—and a sign that those loans were facing problems such as missed payments or difficulty refinancing at maturity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The state agency calculated that the district has classroom capacity for about 718,475 students, compared with a 2025-26 enrollment of 353,065, “representing an overall utilization rate of approximately 49.1%.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Its most recent survey suggested that, on the eve of the election, both candidates had the same rejection rate with voters: 45%.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

“On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most stressful, rate your current stress level.”

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

"When diagnosed, it is often aggressive, presenting with late-stage disease and associated with high rates of disease relapse and mortality."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

The 10-year Treasury note yield climbed to around 5.25% by early last week from 5% after the Fed’s Sept. 16 rate increase, part of a broader, global rise in long-term rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Hazel Cheeseman, from the charity Action on Smoking and Health, said the latest statics showed encouraging progress in cutting smoking rates.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

But those forecasts could be jeopardised by rising interest rates, which have seen France's government bond yields soar in recent weeks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

Nor did his insider knowledge of interest rates ever tempt him to take personal advantage: “But you remember the saying with regard to Caesar’s Wife,” he wrote to Henry Lee.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Appleton had worked in West Brom's academy and knew Rogers was one of the most highly rated prospects there.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Of the 212 S&P 500 stocks trading in bear-market territory, 63 are of them are rated a buy or the equivalent by at least 75% of analysts polled by FactSet who cover those stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

About 80% of the loans are rated at or below BBB—the lowest category of investment grade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Eager to catch his biggest fish yet and keep the show highly rated, Hansen made the fatal mistake of pursuing the predator, rather than trapping him.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

Pick the Hits rated every song on the album, with two scoring average ratings and eight scoring below average.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Public IB maintains an overweight rating on Malaysia’s plantation sector, pegging Sarawak Plantation and TA Ann as preferred picks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

EA recently indicated that it obtained an investment-grade rating on the bonds from another credit-ratings firm, Egan-Jones, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

He began his second term as president with an approval rating of just over 50%, according to polling resource website Silver Bulletin, but in early October it was sitting at about 37%.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Moody’s withdrew its rating on the bonds, and S&P indicated it would rate them high-yield, reflecting the additional debt on EA’s balance sheet following its buyout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Now they added to their short positions in the stocks of the rating agencies.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• appraise
• assess
• calculate
• consider
• count
• deem
• determine
• estimate
• evaluate
• grade
• peg
• rank
• regard
• score