rate
rate — noun
1. A measurement of how fast an event takes place or how often it occurs during a s
A measurement of how fast an event takes place or how often it occurs during a set period.
The heart rate of a healthy adult at rest is usually around 70 beats per minute.
compound noun: heart rate + measurement pattern
At the current rate of progress, the team will finish the building by March.
The birth rate in that region has dropped sharply over the past ten years.
Imran was surprised by the rate at which the water was flooding the basement.
Interest rates have stayed low, which helps people who want to buy a house.
文法句型
rate of + noun
at a + adjective + rate
用法筆記
Often used in compound nouns such as heart rate, birth rate, or interest rate. The preposition of typically follows rate when specifying what is being measured.
常見錯誤
2. The sum of money you pay or receive for a service, calculated per unit of time,
The sum of money you pay or receive for a service, calculated per unit of time, quantity, or value.
The hotel offers a special rate for guests who stay longer than a week.
rate for + noun phrase (who stays)
Brian checked the exchange rate before transferring money to his bank in Tokyo.
compound noun: exchange rate
The babysitter charged a fair hourly rate for looking after the two children.
Tax rates for people with lower incomes have been reduced this financial year.
The shipping company quoted a rate of fifty dollars per kilogram for air freight.
文法句型
rate for + noun
rate of + noun
at a + adjective + rate
用法筆記
Subject is typically a service provider (hotel, bank, company) or the cost itself. The preposition for introduces the service, while of introduces the amount.
常見錯誤
3. A form of local tax paid by people who own homes or buildings, used to fund publ
A form of local tax paid by people who own homes or buildings, used to fund public services such as schools, roads, and rubbish collection. This system still operates in Australia and was used in Britain before the 1990s.
In Australia, homeowners pay council rates to fund local services each year.
collocation: pay council rates
Under the old system, the rate on each house was set by the parish council.
The Patel family struggled to pay their rates after the local factory closed down.
Business rates on shops and offices help pay for street cleaning and park maintenance.
- council tax
the modern UK equivalent after 1993; not the same system but similar purpose
- property tax
general term used in many countries; broader than 'rates'
文法句型
pay rates
council rates
用法筆記
Still actively used in Australia (where it is called council rates). In Britain, domestic rates were replaced by the Community Charge in 1990, but business rates remain. The plural form rates is very common.
常見錯誤
rate — verb
1. To form an opinion about how good, important, or able someone or something is, o
To form an opinion about how good, important, or able someone or something is, often by giving a score or placing them in a particular class.
Critics rated the film four stars out of five for its original story.
rate + object + score + out of + total (scoring pattern)
Haruto rated the hotel's service as poor after his luggage went missing.
rate + object + as + adjective (opinion pattern)
A panel of judges rated each competitor on technical skill and stage presence.
Customers rated the new noodle shop highly for its friendly service and good prices.
The parents rated the school's safety measures as excellent after the full inspection.
文法句型
rate + object + as + noun/adjective
rate + object + on + noun
rate + object + adverb
用法筆記
Commonly used with score expressions (four stars out of five), complement clauses with as, or evaluative adverbs (highly, poorly). The passive construction (be rated as) is very frequent in reviews and reports.
常見錯誤
2. To be thought of as having a certain level of quality or as belonging to a parti
To be thought of as having a certain level of quality or as belonging to a particular category, without someone actively giving a score.
The Riverside Café rates as one of the best breakfast spots in the old town.
rate as + noun phrase (category membership)
Anong's homemade green curry rates highly with everyone who has tried it.
The new mountain highway rates among the safest roads in this region.
This small primary school rates low in the national rankings for mathematics.
- rank
more explicitly comparative; often implies a numbered position
- be considered
more direct and common in everyday speech
文法句型
rate + as + noun
rate + among + noun phrase
rate + adverb
用法筆記
Unlike sense 1, this sense is intransitive — the subject is the thing being evaluated, and there is no separate person doing the rating. Commonly used with among, as, or an adverb of degree (highly, low).
常見錯誤
3. In Britain before the 1990s, to calculate the value of a building so that the lo
In Britain before the 1990s, to calculate the value of a building so that the local tax owed by its owner could be determined.
In the 1980s, each village house was rated at a value the local council set.
passive: be rated at + value
The old chapel was rated much lower than the factory building next door.
Before the new tax, each property was rated according to its size and location.
The school building was rated at a lower amount because it served the whole community.
文法句型
be rated at + value
be rated according to + noun
用法筆記
Almost always in passive voice. This is an historical sense specific to the British local taxation system before 1990. Learners are unlikely to encounter it outside history texts or old documents.
rate — suffix
1. A suffix that attaches to ordinal numbers like first, second, and third to make
A suffix that attaches to ordinal numbers like first, second, and third to make compound adjectives describing quality, from excellent down to poor.
The head chef prepared a first-rate meal that impressed all the dinner guests.
compound: first-rate meaning excellent
Her second-rate performance disappointed the audience at the theatre that night.
compound: second-rate meaning mediocre/poor
The hospital provides first-rate care for patients recovering from serious heart surgery.
Nobody wanted to stay at that third-rate hotel near the busy train station.
- first-class
similar meaning for the top level; also hyphenated
- top-quality
informal alternative to first-rate
文法句型
first-rate
second-rate
third-rate
second-rate + noun
用法筆記
Always written with a hyphen and used attributively before a noun. First-rate is positive, while second-rate and third-rate are negative. This suffix does not combine with ordinals beyond third in common usage.