rate
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.the speed at which something happens or changes over a period of time.
n.the relative speed of change, progress, or movement over a specific interval.
Simple“The car was travelling at a very high rate of speed on the motorway.”
In context“Economists are concerned that the current rate of inflation will erode the purchasing power of middle-income households by the end of the fiscal year.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
n.a fixed price for a service or a type of product.
n.a set price or charge for a commodity or service, often calculated per unit.
Simple“The hotel offers a special weekly rate for guests staying more than five nights.”
In context“The consultancy firm increased its hourly rate to reflect the specialised expertise required for international tax litigation.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.a measurement of one thing compared to another.
n.the proportional relationship between two different amounts or values.
Simple“The local birth rate has stayed the same for the last three years.”
In context“The central bank decided to maintain the interest rate at four percent to encourage domestic investment while stabilising the currency.”
Synonyms - 04 B1 Intermediate
v.to judge how good or bad something is.
v.to assign a value, rank, or level to something based on an evaluation of its quality.
Simple“Users can rate the app from one to five stars in the store.”
In context“Critics generally rate her early novels more highly than her later, more experimental works which many found inaccessible.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to like someone or something very much.
v.to regard someone or something as being of high quality or importance.
Simple“I don't really rate that new restaurant; the food was quite bland.”
In context“Although the director is popular with audiences, most serious film scholars don't really rate his contribution to the genre.”
- 06 C2 Proficiency
n.a class or rank given to a ship based on its size or strength.
n.a classification for naval vessels based on their size, armament, or condition.
Simple“The vessel was a first-rate ship of the line with over one hundred guns.”
In context“During the Napoleonic Wars, the British Admiralty used a strict system to determine the rate of each vessel in the fleet based on its number of mounted cannons.”
Usage actual rate · affect rate · calculate rate
From Middle English rate, from Old French rate, from Medieval Latin rata, from Latin prō ratā parte (“according to a fixed part”), from ratus (“fixed”), from rērī (“think, deem, judge, estimate", originally "reckon, calculate”).
From Middle English raten (“to scold, chide”), from Old Norse hrata (“to refuse, reject, slight, find fault with”), from Proto-Germanic hratōną (“to sway, shake”), from Proto-Indo-European krad- (“to swing”). Cognate with Swedish rata (“to reject, refuse, find fault, slight”), Norwegian rata (“to reject, cast aside”), Old English hratian (“to rush, hasten”).
Related to, or a variant of, ret. (Found dialectally also as rait.)
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.