a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
"they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"
"the rate of change was faster than expected"
amount of a charge or payment relative to some basis
"a 10-minute phone call at that rate would cost $5"
a quantity or amount or measure considered as a proportion of another quantity or amount or measure
"the literacy rate"
"the retention rate"
"the dropout rate"
The worth of something; value.
"The antique clock held a high rate among collectors despite being non-functional."
In plain English: A rate is a specific amount of something that happens or is paid over a set period of time.
"The hotel has an average rating of four stars on review sites."
To assign or be assigned a particular rank or level.
"My mother did not rate me for staying up late; she simply told me to go to bed immediately."
To berate, scold.
In plain English: To rate something means to give it a score or opinion based on how good or bad you think it is.
"The teacher rated the students on their participation in class."
Usage: Use rate when you are assigning someone to a specific position, such as rating an employee's performance on a scale of one to five. Do not confuse this with the noun form meaning speed or frequency; instead, use "speed" for how fast something moves and "frequency" for how often it happens.
The word "rate" entered English via Old French and Medieval Latin, where it originally meant "according to a fixed part." Its root traces back to the Latin verb for "to think" or "judge," which evolved to mean calculating or estimating a specific portion.