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

The number of campuses with F ratings went from 31 to 11 during the course of the year, and 63 schools gained at least one letter grade. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Nov. 2025

Midterms Negative ratings for an incumbent president are not positive indicators for his party come midterm elections. —Emily Guskin, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025

They were ranked 27th in the league in defensive rating coming into the game, a tacitly unacceptable ineptitude for a team with Gobert in the paint. —Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025

The Heat has also finished with one of the NBA’s 10 worst offensive ratings in each of the last three seasons. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2025

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