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The Latin phrase prō ratā, meaning "in proportion," is a shortening of prō ratā parte/portiōne, meaning "according to the fixed proportion." English users borrowed the shorter phrase in the 16th century, dropping the diacritics along the way, and began applying the term in contexts formal enough that Latin doesn't seem too out of place: in finance and law. There pro rata refers to distributing or allocating a quantity proportionately—for example, dividing up an annual interest rate pro rata into monthly rates; distributing pro rata a profit amongst shareholders; paying part-time employees pro rata (according to full-time pay); or allocating liability for a defective product pro rata. In the early 19th century, pro rata demonstrated its usefulness as an adjective, as in "a pro rata share" or "pro rata distribution." The verb prorate (based on pro rata) followed soon thereafter. Incidentally, the familiar noun and verb rate (as in "tax rates" and "rating on a scale of 1 to 5") also trace back to Latin prō ratā parte, but they entered the language back in the 15th century by way of Anglo-French.

Examples of pro rata in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web All home-operating costs—property management, maintenance and landscaping, utilities, taxes and repairs—are passed along directly to owners transparently with no markup, all divvied up pro rata. — Nicolas Stecher, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2022 The reasonable compensation issue plays a role in the QBI computation because S corporation shareholders are allocated a pro rata share of the S corporation’s QBI and such amount is determined after the deduction of reasonable compensation. — Daniel Mayo, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2022 On the closing date of the transaction, each AT&T shareholder will receive (on a tax-free basis) an estimated 0.24 shares of the new WBD common stock for each share of AT&T common stock held as of the record date for the pro rata distribution. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 1 Feb. 2022 For example, pre-2022 DHS income could have been allocated 10% from physical therapy pro rata to the professional services income of each doctor and 90% based upon percentage of ownership. — Alan Gassman, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2021 Investors receive a pro rata share of the future income and appreciation of the real estate. — Jeffrey Steele, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2021 The company issuing a Use and Occupancy policy agrees to pay a pro rata amount of the sum insured for each day the business is entirely stopped, and in proportion in the event of a partial interruption. — Chip Merlin, Forbes, 30 Aug. 2021 Built on Ethereum using underlying smart contracts, the FDL token allows owners to receive pro rata net profits from the series directly into their digital wallets. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 25 Aug. 2021 The transaction is considered to include a pro rata portion of the nondeductible contributions. — Bob Carlson, Forbes, 18 May 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pro rata.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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