rating

rating — noun

1. a number, grade, or set of stars that shows the quality, safety, or value of som

1.nounB2
Definition

a number, grade, or set of stars that shows the quality, safety, or value of something — for example, a product, a service, or a person's creditworthiness — compared against a standard scale.

Example

The school received a five-star rating from the national education inspectors.

rating from [source institution]

Heather's credit rating improved after she paid off her student loans.

credit rating (common financial collocation)

Common collocations
  • high rating
  • low rating
  • perfect rating
  • five-star rating
  • credit rating
  • safety rating
  • approval rating
  • performance rating
  • overall rating
  • rating scale
Synonyms
  • score

    focuses on a numerical result, often in tests or games; more specific than rating

  • grade

    usually implies a letter or category (A/B/C) rather than a number; common in academic contexts

  • ranking

    stresses position relative to others rather than absolute quality

  • evaluation

    refers to the process or the written report, not necessarily a single score

Grammar Patterns

rating of + number/grade

rating from + evaluator

Usage Note

Often used in compound nouns with a preceding noun that names the area being measured, such as credit rating, safety rating, or star rating. The rating itself is usually expressed as a number (1–10), a letter grade (A–F), or a star count (1–5).

Common Mistakes

The movie got rate of 8 out of 10.
The movie got a rating of 8 out of 10.
'rating' (not 'rate') is the noun for scores and evaluations; 'rate' as a noun means speed, price, or level.
The hotel has a five-stars rating.
The hotel has a five-star rating.
in compound adjectives with a number, the noun after the hyphen stays singular.

2. numbers collected by broadcasters that indicate the size of a programme's audien

2.nounB2
Definition

numbers collected by broadcasters that indicate the size of a programme's audience, used as a measure of its popularity and as a basis for setting advertising rates.

Example

The talk show's ratings have fallen since the new host took over.

ratings fall / rise (collocation with trend verbs)

Owen was thrilled when the podcast's ratings climbed past one million listeners.

Common collocations
  • high ratings
  • low ratings
  • falling ratings
  • overnight ratings
  • ratings boost
  • ratings winner
  • ratings hit
  • ratings success
  • ratings failure
  • ratings war
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

the ratings of + programme

ratings for + time slot

Usage Note

In this sense, the plural form ratings is far more common than the singular. Expressions such as the ratings, ratings are in, and ratings boost are typical in media-industry discussions.

Common Mistakes

The TV show rating is high.
The TV show's ratings are high.
for broadcast popularity, use the plural form ratings almost always.
The programme got good rating in its first week.
The programme got good ratings in its first week.
same rule: plural for audience measurement sense.

Word family

  • rate
    verbB1
  • rate
    nounB1
  • rated
    adjectiveB2
  • overrate
    verbC1
  • underrate
    verbC1
  • ratio
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe a measure of quality or performance, but they differ in how the result is expressed and what it emphasises. A score is almost always a number, often from a test, game, or survey — you might say 'a score of 87 on the exam.' A grade is typically a letter or category label (A, B, C) that groups performance into bands; it is the standard term for academic and some professional settings. A ranking places someone or something in an ordered list relative to competitors — 'third in the national rankings' — so it is always comparative. An evaluation is broader: it can refer to the entire process of assessment or the written report that results, rather than a single numeric or letter output. 'Rating' overlaps with all four but is more flexible: it can be a number, a letter, or stars, and it is widely used for consumer products (safety rating), financial standing (credit rating), and media content (age rating). In everyday use, choose score for test results, grade for classes or certificates, ranking for competition position, evaluation for a full assessment process, and rating for standardised quality measures.

score ↗grade ↗ranking ↗evaluation ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • credit rating
  • safety rating
  • approval rating
  • star rating
  • performance rating
  • energy rating
  • TV ratings
  • audience ratings
  • ratings agency
  • ratings system

Phrases

  • rating scale
  • rating system
  • ratings war
  • overnight ratings
  • ratings boost

Prepositions

  • rating of
  • rating on
  • rating from
  • rating by

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Rating comes from the verb 'rate' (meaning 'to estimate the value of'), which entered English from Old French 'rate' (price, value), itself from Medieval Latin 'rata' (fixed amount), a shortening of the Latin phrase 'pro rata parte' meaning 'according to the calculated share'. The noun form developed in the 1700s, first referring to a person's rank or class in the navy, then expanding to general measurements of quality and, by the 1900s, broadcast audience measurements.