base rate

noun

A benchmark interest rate, from which other interest rates are calculated; a policy rate.

“On loans to higher-risk customers, the bank charges 5% above the base rate.”

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Meanings

nounbase rate (plural base rates)

plural base rates

  1. businessA benchmark interest rate, from which other interest rates are calculated; a policy rate.

    On loans to higher-risk customers, the bank charges 5% above the base rate.

    1. UKbusinessEspecially, the interest rate at which the Bank of England lends money to commercial banks.
  2. sciencesThe background rate of occurrence of any phenomenon, which informs any logical analysis of its rate of occurrence under any subset of circumstances; especially, the proportion of individuals in a population who have a certain characteristic (e.g., trait, experience, circumstance), irrespective of any treatment effects in a treatment group of a scientific study.
Cite this entry
APA

base rate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/base%20rate

MLA

“base rate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/base%20rate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “base rate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/base%20rate.

Source: base rate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.