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rate of interest

rate of interest

5 3.2
Percent a bank charges for borrowing money each year
  • noun
  • /reɪt əv ˈɪntrəst/
translation icon : tasa de interés
  • The rate of interest on my mortgage is fixed at 3% for the next five years.
  • real rate of interest
  • low rate of interest
  • market rate of interest

So that's why they increased the base rate of interest.

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Examples

  • He charged a rate of interest that was just a little higher than Church canon.

  • I want you to extend all your outstanding loans to Roffe for the same rate of interest for the period of one year.

  • All had high rates of interest.

  • What better way to expand credit than to push down the rate of interest?

    Blog text (19)
  • And I'm going to say, look, I want to give people the best rate of interest in the country.

  • But for long periods of time, the rate of interest moved in a narrow range.

    Blog text (19)
  • The net effect of the Fed was to totally destabilize the rate of interest.

    Blog text (19)
  • Jody said, as if he hadn't been listening, that he wanted to pay the going rate of interest on the loan.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Child tried to show that the prosperity of various countries varies inversely with prevailing rates of interest.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Their fate is determined by national rates of interest, inflation, and unemployment—not by the flowering of international institutions.

    Academic text (1993)

Synonyms

rate
vsrate of interest
2.1

The price charged for something often per hour or unit

is the annual percentage applied specifically to borrowed money
interest
vsrate of interest
  • Specialized
619 3.3

Extra money paid when you borrow money or earned when you save money

is stated as a percentage annually rather than as a payment amount
interest rate
vsrate of interest
  • Specialized
415 2.3

The extra money you pay when you borrow or receive when you save each year

is the specific annual percentage charged for borrowing money

How High

usurious
  • Specialized
1 9.9
high-interest
12 4.2
rate of interest
5 3.2
low-interest
  • Specialized
33 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

rate + of + interest

The meaning is directly compositional: 'rate' (a charge per unit/time) combined with 'interest' (payment for borrowing) yields the percentage charged for borrowing. This noun-of-noun/of-construction is common across languages (e.g., Spanish 'tasa de interés', French 'taux d'intérêt') and follows standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Rate of interest grew from a simple idea: when you borrow money you pay extra for 'using' it, much like paying to rent something. The rate is the amount or measure and the interest is that extra payment, usually shown as a percent each year, so it means the percent a lender charges for a loan.