I. ˈrāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English raten, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish rata to find fault, blame, despise, Old Norse hrata to fall, stagger — more at cardinal
transitive verb
1. : to rebuke (as a person or a hunting dog) angrily or violently : scold , upbraid
shall have you soundly rated and dismissed — Rex Ingamells
the proper words for rating foxhounds — C.E.Hare
2. obsolete : to drive away (a person or dog) by scolding
rated mine uncle from the council board — Shakespeare
intransitive verb
: to voice angry reprimands — usually used with at
like her none the less for rating at her — Alfred Tennyson
Synonyms: see scold
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin rata, from Latin ( pro ) rata ( parte ) according to a fixed proportion, from pro for, according to + rata calculated, fixed (feminine of ratus, from past participle of reri to reckon, calculate) + parte, abl. of pars part — more at reason
1.
a. : reckoned value : valuation
stones whose rates are … as fancy values them — Shakespeare
appraised him at a low rate
b. obsolete : estimation
wise men … in the ordinary rate and esteem of the world — Daniel Defoe
2. obsolete : a fixed or established portion or measure : quantity
brought every man his present … a rate year by year — 2 Chron 9:24 (Authorized Version)
3.
a. : a fixed relation (as of quantity, amount, or degree) between two things : ratio
rate of exchange
b. : a charge, payment, or price fixed according to a ratio, scale, or standard
hotel rates
the publisher's usual rate for short stories
drapery fabrics bought at the rate of a dollar a yard
sold at cut rates
as
(1) : a charge per unit of a public-service commodity (as electricity, gas, water)
an electric rate of 7 cents per kilowatt-hour
(2) : a price or charge per unit of freight or passenger service (as cents per hundred pounds or dollars per ton, per car, per passenger-mile) ; specifically : a common carrier charge shown on an official published tariff on file with a governmental regulatory agency
(3) : the price charged an advertiser per unit of publication space or of radio or television time
(4) : a unit charge or ratio used by the government for assessing taxes on property
(5) Britain : a local tax — usually used in plural
parish rates
4.
a. : quantity, amount, or degree of something measured per unit of something else (as time)
at the rate of 60 miles an hour
a birth rate of 40 per thousand of population
rate of progress over the past century
the rate of corporate profits
rate of depreciation
b. : amount of payment or charge based on some other amount
rate of interest per annum
rate of commission per bond sold
as
(1) : the wage paid on an incentive or time basis for a particular job
(2) : the amount of premium per unit of insurance or exposure
5.
a. archaic : relative behavior or manner : style , fashion — usually used with after
I proceed much after the old rate — William Cowper
b. : relative condition or quality : rank , kind
I am a spirit of no common rate — Shakespeare
6.
a. : the order or class to which a warship belongs determined according to a specified criterion (as size or armament)
a ship of the first rate
b. : the class of a merchant ship for marine insurance determined by its relative safety as a risk (as A 1, A 2)
c. : the relative standing or grade of a sailor ; specifically : the rank of an enlisted man (as in the United States Navy) within a specified rating
the rate of radarman third class
7. : the gain or loss in the running of a timepiece within a specified unit of time
daily rate
hourly rate
•
- at any rate
- at this rate
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English raten, from rate, n.
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to allot (a share) to
had not rated him his part — Shakespeare
2. : consider , regard
rated an excellent golfer
rated the highest office in the state
3.
a. : to set an estimate on : appraise , value
copper is rated … above its real value — Adam Smith
buyers … rate black broadcloth high for fall — Women's Wear Daily
b. chiefly Britain : to assess the value of (property) for taxing purposes
c. archaic : to calculate the total
then must we rate the cost — Shakespeare
d. : to determine or assign the relative rank or class of (as a ship or a seaman)
e. : to evaluate with reference to specific traits or given standards : grade
rate the way the … companies treat their dealers — S.L.Payne
each job was rated on a five-point scale — Mildred Mitchell
f. : to estimate the normal capacity or power of
current flowing at the rated capacity — Cannon Catalog
flooring system is rated to withstand a … fire and water test — American Builder
4. : to fix the amount of premium to be charged per unit of insurance or exposure on (a particular risk)
5.
a. : to adjust (a timepiece) to a given rate of going (as by altering the effective length of the pendulum) : regulate
b. : to find the gain or loss of (a timepiece) in a given unit of time
c. : to pace or restrain (as a horse or oneself) in a race in order to conserve energy for the finish
rated the 4-year-old … colt perfectly — F.M.Blunk
6. : to have a right to : deserve
most … do not rate so much remembrance — Harper's
sufficient appeal to rate a network show — Charles Miller
intransitive verb
: to be of consequence : rank , count
human ingenuity was to rate … as a vital national resource — Steelways
specifically : to enjoy a status of special privilege or consideration
I never did rate with him — Bess A. Garner
Synonyms: see deserve , estimate
IV.
dialect England
variant of ret