rate
/ɹeɪt/ noun, verb, adjective
- noun (obsolete) The worth of something; value.
- noun The proportional relationship between one amount, value etc. and another. “At the height of his powers, he was producing pictures at the rate of four a year.”
- noun Speed. “The car was speeding down here at a hell of a rate.”
- noun The relative speed of change or progress. “The rate of production at the factory is skyrocketing.”
- noun The price of (an individual) thing; cost. “He asked quite a rate to take me to the airport.”
- noun A set price or charge for all examples of a given case, commodity, service etc. “Postal rates here are low.”
- noun A wage calculated in relation to a unit of time. “We pay an hourly rate of between $10 – $15 per hour depending on qualifications and experience.”
- noun Any of various taxes, especially those levied by a local authority. “I hardly have enough left every month to pay the rates.”
- verb (transitive) To assign or be assigned a particular rank or level. “She is rated fourth in the country.”
- verb (transitive) To evaluate or estimate the value of. “They rate his talents highly.”
- verb (transitive) To consider or regard. “He rated this book brilliant.”
- verb (transitive) To deserve; to be worth. “The view here hardly rates a mention in the travel guide.”
- verb (transitive) To determine the limits of safe functioning for a machine or electrical device. “The transformer is rated at 10 watts.”
- verb (transitive, chiefly UK) To evaluate a property's value for the purposes of local taxation.
- verb (transitive, informal) To like; to think highly of. “The customers don't rate the new burgers.”
- verb (transitive, horse racing) To take action to slow down the pace of the horse one is riding.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To berate, scold.
- verb (UK dialectal, obsolete) To cause (hay, hemp, flax, etc) to decay (whether in an injurious way, or—as retting—in a useful way) by exposure to weather, particularly wetness.
- noun an unsuccessful person; a failure
- adjective (postpositive) (of a person or thing) failed; disappointing
Synonyms
appraise evaluate worthen apprise apprize assess esteem judge price prize valuate value weigh regard respect honor idolize lay store by look up to hallow charge per unit pace rank range order grade place
Etymology
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.)
Borrowed from French raté, past participle form of rater (“to miss; to fail”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To chide with vehemence; to scold; to censure violently.
- noun Established portion or measure; fixed allowance.
- noun That which is established as a measure or criterion; degree; standard; rank; proportion; ratio; as, a slow rate of movement; rate of interest is the ratio of the interest to the principal, per annum.
- verb To set a certain estimate on; to value at a certain price or degree.
Etymology [Perh. fr. E. rate, v. t., to value at a certain rate, to estimate, but more prob. fr. Sw. rata to find fault, to blame, to despise, to hold cheap; cf. Icel. hrat refuse, hrati rubbish.]
Etymology [OF., fr. L. rata (sc. pars), fr. ratus reckoned, fixed by calculation, p. p. of reri to reckon, to calculate. Cf. Reason.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “rate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details