rating

noun

rat·​ing ˈrā-tiŋ 

1

: a classification according to grade

specifically : a military or naval specialist classification

2

chiefly British : an enlisted sailor

3

a

: relative estimate or evaluation : standing

the school has a good academic rating

b

: an estimate of an individual's or business's credit and responsibility

c

: an estimate of the percentage of the public listening to or viewing a particular radio or television program

4

: a stated operating limit of a machine expressible in power units (such as kilowatts of a direct-current generator) or in characteristics (such as voltage)

Examples of rating in a Sentence

The school has an above-average academic rating.

The article compares the fuel-economy ratings of various cars.

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, this travel wrap, with more than 8,300 five-star ratings, functions as a cardigan, poncho, cape, and shawl. —Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026

Soaring ratings transform him into an unlikely prophet for a network hungry for spectacle, in a world where outrage sells and attention is the ultimate currency. —Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Mar. 2026

Text messages that The Courant’s Ed Mahony obtained under the FOIA suggested Gillett was involved with two legislators in the writing of a nutty op-ed accusing Eversource of rigging an international financial ratings agency. —Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2026

But who wants to be analytical about rating people? —Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1702, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing rating

• approval rating
• credit rating
• Q rating
• self-rating

Rhymes for rating

• baiting
• bating
• crating
• dating
• freighting
• gating
• grating
• hating
• mating
• plaiting
• plating
• prating

Kids Definition

rating

noun

rat·​ing

ˈrāt-iŋ

: a position within a grading system

credit rating