fourth-rate

adjective

Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 50–60 guns across two gun decks, a complement of 320–420, and weighing approximately 1,000 tons burthen.

Similar
dismalhorriblerubbishabysmalatrociousawfulbadchronic
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Meanings

adjectivefourth-rate (not comparable)

alternative fourth rate

  1. UKhistoricalnot comparablegovernmentOf a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 50–60 guns across two gun decks, a complement of 320–420, and weighing approximately 1,000 tons burthen.
  2. idiomaticnot comparableuncommonTerrible, awful; less than third-rate.

    Synonyms: dismal, horrible, rubbish, abysmal, atrocious, awful, bad, chronic

nounfourth-rate (plural fourth-rates)

plural fourth-rates · alternative fourth rate

  1. UKhistoricalgovernmentA fourth-rate ship of the line.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveTerrible, awful; less than third-rate.

Similar
dismalhorriblerubbishabysmalatrociousawfulbadchroniccoarsecornycrapcrapaliciouscrappycrummydeityforsakendiredisagreeabledismaldogshitdreadful
Also see
arrantbadcodcrummycut-rategruesomepeakunutterable
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“fourth-rate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fourth-rate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

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

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