What does rating mean?
A rating is a judgment or assessment expressed as a grade, score, category, or level. The term is used for evaluating films, hotels, products, performances, safety conditions, and the financial reliability of people or organizations. In the context of credit, a rating indicates how likely a borrower or business is to meet its financial obligations. Ratings also serve as classifications: films and video games receive age or content ratings, while equipment and machinery may be assigned ratings indicating their capacity or operating limits. As a verb, to rate means to judge or evaluate something, often by assigning it a score. Although the word can suggest a precise numerical judgment, a rating may instead be broad or subjective, as with critical reception or an online customer review. It is therefore useful in discussions where comparison, assessment, and classification are central, while the surrounding context often determines how reliable or authoritative the rating is.
An assessment of someone or something expressed as a score, grade, category, or level; also the act of making such an assessment.
"The scheme received a strong safety rating."
A formal financial assessment is usually called a "credit rating," while suitability classifications often appear in phrases such as "age rating" or "content rating."
To assess, evaluate, or assign a score, grade, or classification to someone or something.
"Customers rated the new phone highly."
The verb is especially common in reviews, surveys, rankings, and historical assessments.
Use the plural for multiple assessments, grades, or classifications, including the commonly recurring collective sense "ratings."
"The film received mixed ratings from critics."
A rating can do more than assign a score: it can determine whether a building passes inspection, a film receives an age classification, or a business qualifies for credit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rating come from?
The word "rating" is formed from "rate" with the suffix "-ing," which developed from a gerund construction and later produced nouns denoting an assessment or classification. The word "rate" entered Middle English through Old French and medieval Latin, ultimately deriving from Latin "ratio," meaning reason or calculated proportion. The same Latin root also lies behind words such as "ration," "rational," and "ratify."
Related word forms
How rating is actually used
The word is common in evaluations, consumer reviews, finance, regulation, and classification systems. A credit rating is a formal assessment of financial reliability, while expressions such as "the rating of the film" can sound informal or dated. As a verb, "rate" is often more usual than "rating" when stating a judgment.
Easily confused with rating
A rating is an assessment or score, whereas a ranking is the position an entity occupies when compared with others.