Noun

Singular rate

Plural rates

rate (plural rates)

1. An amount measured in relation to another amount.

   The car was speeding at a rate of ninety kilometres per hour.

2. A price or fee determined in relation to a particular scale or standard.

   The central bank sets an interest rate.

3. A price per unit for a service or product.

   Postal rates here are low.

4. The relative speed of change or progress.

   The rate of production at the factory is skyrocketing.

5. (statistics) A measure of the frequency of a given event, typically expressed as the number of occurrences of the event for every thousand or hundred thousand people in the total population considered.

   The mortality rate in the country was unusually high.

6. Wages calculated in relation to a unit of time.

   The pay rate is ten dollars per hour.

7. A level of quality.

   This textbook is first rate.

Derived terms

• at any rate
• flat rate
• interest rate
• mortality rate
• failure rate
• rate limiting

Rate or rates may refer to:

• Rate (mathematics), a specific kind of ratio, in which two measurements are related to each other
• Naval rating, a term used to designate speciality or rank of naval officials
• Rate of a ship, a term indicating a sail ship's firepower in the British Royal Navy
• Rates, a Portuguese parish and town located in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim
• Bit rate, number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time

In math and finance

• Rate function, a function used to quantify the probabilities of rare event
• Rates (tax), a type of taxation system used to fund local government
• Exchange rate, specifies how much one currency is worth in terms of the other

In human growth

• Birth rate, the natality or childbirths per 1,000 people per year
• Mortality rate, a measure of the number of deaths in some population