Library / English Dictionary

RATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The relative speed of progress or change

Example:

the pace of events accelerated

Synonyms:

pace; rate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("rate" is a kind of...):

temporal property (a property relating to time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rate"):

fastness; speed; swiftness (a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens)

beat (a regular rate of repetition)

celerity; quickness; rapidity; rapidness; speediness (a rate that is rapid)

deliberateness; deliberation; slowness; unhurriedness (a rate demonstrating an absence of haste or hurry)

sluggishness (the pace of things that move relatively slowly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Amount of a charge or payment relative to some basis

Example:

a 10-minute phone call at that rate would cost $5

Synonyms:

charge per unit; rate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("rate" is a kind of...):

charge (the price charged for some article or service)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rate"):

room rate (the rate charged daily for a hotel room)

linage; lineage (a rate of payment for written material that is measured according to the number of lines submitted)

footage (a rate of charging by the linear foot of work done)

excursion rate (a reduced rate for a round-trip ticket)

exchange rate; rate of exchange (the charge for exchanging currency of one country for currency of another)

depreciation rate; rate of depreciation (the rate at which the value of property is reduced; used to calculate tax deduction)

freight; freight rate; freightage (the charge for transporting something by common carrier)

interest rate; rate of interest (the percentage of a sum of money charged for its use)

tax rate (rate used to calculate tax liability)

installment rate; payment rate; rate of payment; repayment rate (the amount of money paid out per unit time)

pay rate; rate of pay (amount of money received per unit time)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A quantity or amount or measure considered as a proportion of another quantity or amount or measure

Example:

the dropout rate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Hypernyms ("rate" is a kind of...):

proportion (the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit

Example:

the rate of change was faster than expected

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("rate" is a kind of...):

magnitude relation; quantitative relation (a relation between magnitudes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rate"):

knot ((of ships and wind) a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour or about 1.15 statute miles per hour)

kc; kHz; kilocycle; kilocycle per second; kilohertz (one thousand periods per second)

kilometers per hour; kilometres per hour; km/h; kph (the ratio of the distance traveled (in kilometers) to the time spent traveling (in hours))

Mc; megacycle; megacycle per second; megahertz; MHz (one million periods per second)

terahertz; THz (one trillion periods per second)

metabolic rate (rate of metabolism; the amount of energy expended in a give period)

miles per hour; mph (the ratio of the distance traveled (in miles) to the time spent traveling (in hours))

gait; pace (the rate of moving (especially walking or running))

heart rate; pulse; pulse rate (the rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health)

rate of return (the amount returned per unit of time expressed as a percentage of the cost)

rate of respiration; respiratory rate (the rate at which a person inhales and exhales; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health)

rev; revolutions per minute; rpm (rate of revolution of a motor)

sampling rate ((telecommunication) the frequency of sampling per unit time)

solar constant (the rate at which radiant solar energy is received at the outer layer of the earth's atmosphere)

spacing (the time between occurrences of a repeating event)

speed; velocity (distance travelled per unit time)

pace; tempo (the rate of some repeating event)

words per minute; wpm (the rate at which words are produced (as in speaking or typing))

acceleration ((physics) a rate of increase of velocity)

deceleration ((physics) a rate of decrease in velocity)

attrition rate; rate of attrition (the rate of shrinkage in size or number)

birth rate; birthrate; fertility; fertility rate; natality (the ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year)

bits per second; bps ((computer science) the rate at which data is transferred (as by a modem))

crime rate (the ratio of crimes in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year)

data rate (the rate at which circuits or other devices operate when handling digital information)

death rate; deathrate; fatality rate; mortality; mortality rate (the ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 per year)

dose rate (the quantity of radiation absorbed per unit time)

erythrocyte sedimentation rate; ESR; sed rate; sedimentation rate (the rate at which red blood cells settle out in a tube of blood under standardized conditions; a high rate usually indicates the presence of inflammation)

flow; flow rate; rate of flow (the amount of fluid that flows in a given time)

flux (the rate of flow of energy or particles across a given surface)

frequence; frequency; oftenness (the number of occurrences within a given time period)

Gc; GHz; gigacycle; gigacycle per second; gigahertz (1,000,000,000 periods per second)

growth rate; rate of growth (the rate of increase in size per unit time)

cps; cycle; cycle per second; cycles/second; hertz; Hz (the unit of frequency; one hertz has a periodic interval of one second (named for Heinrich Rudolph Hertz))

inflation rate; rate of inflation (the rate of change of prices (as indicated by a price index) calculated on a monthly or annual basis)

jerk ((mechanics) the rate of change of acceleration)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Assign a rank or rating to

Example:

The restaurant is rated highly in the food guide

Synonyms:

grade; order; place; range; rank; rate

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "rate" is one way to...):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rate"):

upgrade (rate higher; raise in value or esteem)

downgrade (rate lower; lower in value or esteem)

sequence (arrange in a sequence)

prioritise; prioritize (assign a priority to)

subordinate (rank or order as less important or consider of less value)

reorder (assign a new order to)

seed (distribute (players or teams) so that outstanding teams or players will not meet in the early rounds)

shortlist (put someone or something on a short list)

superordinate (place in a superior order or rank)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue rate the movie

Sense 2

Meaning:

Estimate the value of

Example:

Gold was rated highly among the Romans

Synonyms:

rate; value

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "rate" is one way to...):

appraise; assess; evaluate; measure; valuate; value (evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rate"):

revalue (value anew)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

rating (act of ascertaining or fixing the value or worth of)

rating (an appraisal of the value of something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be worthy of or have a certain rating

Example:

This bond rates highly

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "rate" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Something ----s something

Derivation:

rating (standing or position on a scale)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A dose administration rate unit equal to the rate at which one thousandth of a gram of a product is delivered or administered over the time period of one week.

(Milligram per Week, NCI Thesaurus)

He alone rated himself beyond diamonds and rubies.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

MistNet also allows researchers to estimate flying velocity and traffic rates of migrating birds.

(Using artificial intelligence to track birds' dark-of-night migrations, National Science Foundation)

How were people, at that rate, to be understood?

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Between ourselves, Jo, some of the girls I know really do go on at such a rate I'm ashamed of them.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Study participants were asked to rate their level of happiness and record their daily consumption of fruit and vegetables. (UQ News)

(Fruit and veggies pave the road to happiness, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Their descent into the earth progressed at the rate of two or three inches an hour.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

At any rate it would be most ungenerous.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

My word, how he rated us, and how glad we were at last to sneak quietly away.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At any rate, I am in your hands. You can take what steps you like. As I have already said, there is no man living who can fear death less than I do.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)