Word of the Day: Rate
A rate is an amount of money that a person has to pay for something, especially if a price goes up and down.
- The rates at that hotel are kind of high.
- Interest rates on loans are very low right now.
- The exchange rate in that country favors the U.S. dollar.
- We were thinking about renting a car in New York, but the rates were too high.
Sometimes a rate refers to speed:
- The rate at which they were traveling broke the speed limit.
- Mike is growing quickly. At this rate, he’ll be six feet tall by the time he’s 13.
If you use rate as a verb, the meaning is quite different. To rate something is to give an opinion about quality. A person who rates uses a scale or a ratings system that other people understand.
- How does this restaurant rate against others that serve the same kind of food?
- This movie is rated R.
- How does this car rate in Consumer Reports?
The word “rating” is a noun:
- The cafe scored a bad rating from the critic who reviewed it.
- Leonard’s supervisor gave him a high rating on his performance review.
- The ratings for the Academy Awards show are almost always high.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with R page to see the list of all words starting with letter R. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
