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

Companies with a buy-rating include automakers Volvo, BMW and Porsche, as well as food and drink manufacturers Nestlé , Heineken and Lotus Bakeries . — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 8 July 2026

Money Metals Exchange reputation and customer experience Money Metals Exchange holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and has been accredited since 2011. — Deane Biermeier, USA Today, 8 July 2026

In Idaho, properties more than 5 miles from a fire station can be assigned a high Public Protection Classification rating, according to the Idaho Surveying and Rating Bureau. — Noah Daly, Idaho Statesman, 8 July 2026

Thanks in large part to its roster of dance pros and a cast that drafted off the success of other reality shows (The Traitors’s Dylan Efron; Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’s Whitney Leavitt), the show’s ratings surged to pre-COVID levels. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 July 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