1143
ration book
promise: They said they'd help but they've ratted (on us). 2 to
hunt rats: The dogs went ratting.
rat-a-tat /ˌræt ə ˈtæt/ also rat-a-tat-tat /ˌræt ə tæt ˈtæt/ n
[S] RAT-TAT
rat-a-tou-ille /ˌrætəˈtuːi, -ˈtwi/ n [U] a French dish of
vegetables, especially onions, tomatoes, COURGETTES, and
AUBERGINES cooked in oil
rat-bag /ˈrætbæg/ n BrE & AustrE derog slang an unpleasant or
worthless person
ratch-et /ˈrætɪt/ n a toothed wheel or bar provided with a
piece of metal that fits between its teeth to allow movement
in one direction but not the other, used in machinery
rate¹ /reɪt/ n 1 [(of)] a quantity such as value, cost, or speed,
measured by its relation to some other amount: The birth
rate is the number of births compared to the size of the
population. | a fall in the rate of inflation | We drove at a
steady rate. | The drug has a high success rate in curing the
disease. 2 a charge or payment fixed according to a stand-
ard scale: The big banks have put up interest rates for borrow-
ers to 15%. | They're demanding higher rates of pay. | What's
the going rate (=the usual or average rate, e.g. of pay) for
computer programmers? | an hourly rate of £10 (=a payment
or charge of £10 for each hour) → see also BANK
RATE 3 [usually pl.] a local tax formerly paid in Britain by
owners of buildings, for locally provided services. It was
replaced by the COMMUNITY CHARGE. → see also RATE-
CAP 4 at this/that rate if events continue in the same way
as now/then: At this rate we won't be able to afford a holi-
day. 5 BrE at a rate of knots very fast: He's getting through
the ironing at a rate of knots. 6 -rate of the stated level of
quality: a first-rate (=very good) performer | a very second-
rate team → see also at any rate (ANY)
rate² v 1 [T+obj+adv/prep] to have the stated opinion about;
value: The company seem to rate her very highly. | She is
generally rated as one of the best modern poets. 2 [T] to
deserve: an unimportant news story that didn't rate a mention
on the national news 3 [T usually pass.] BrE to fix a RATE on (a
building): a house rated at £500 4 [T] to give a letter to (a
film) showing who may see it: The film has been rated PG.
rate³ v [I,T] old use to speak angrily (to); BERATE
rate-a-ble val-ue, ratable value /ˌreɪtəbl ˈvæljuː/
abbrev. RV — n BrE a value formerly given to a building for the
purpose of calculating the RATES to be charged: What's the
rateable value of this shop?
rate-cap v -pp- [T] BrE (of a central government) to limit the
amount of RATES that could be charged by (a local council)
—-capping n [U]
rate of ex'change n the EXCHANGE RATE
rate of re'turn n a company's profit for a year expressed as a
PERCENTAGE of the capital employed during the year
rate-pay-er /ˈreɪtpeɪər/ n BrE a person who pays for locally
provided services, formerly by paying RATES and after that by
paying the COMMUNITY CHARGE: The ratepayers always have
to pay for the council's mistakes.
rate sup'port ,grant n BrE money paid by the government
to a LOCAL AUTHORITY which forms part of the money that
the local authority can spend
ra-ther /ˈrɑðər || ˈræ-/ predeterminer, adv 1 to some degree;
QUITE: It's rather cold today. | a rather cold day | rather a cold
day | rather cold weather | She's driving rather fast. | These
shoes are rather too big. | I'm feeling rather better. | It's rather
like a potato. | She's getting rather fat. | It's rather a pity. | He
earns rather a lot of money. | It rather surprised me. | I rather
like him. | I rather stupidly agreed to do it. (=I agreed to do it,
and this was rather stupid) → see MORE (USAGE) 2 (often
with would and sometimes with had) more willingly: I'd
rather play tennis than swim. | 'Have a drink?' 'No thanks, I'd
rather not.' | Rather than cause trouble, he left. 3 more
exactly; more truly: He came home very late last night, or
rather very early this morning. | The job will take months
rather than weeks. 4 to a greater degree or with better
reasons: The parents should be blamed rather than the
children. | It was what he meant rather than what he said that
annoyed me. | The decision was taken for political rather than
military reasons. 5 infml especially BrE (used as an answer) yes,
certainly: 'Would you like a swim?' 'Rather!'
USAGE Compare fairly and rather. Fairly is often used for
qualities that are neither good nor bad: The weather was
fairly cold (=cold, but not very cold) | I was driving fairly
fast (=fast, but not very fast). Rather is stronger than
fairly and often suggests that a quality is bad or
unsuitable: It's rather cold (=colder than I would like) | I
was driving rather fast (=too fast for the conditions on the
road). But British speakers may use rather about things
they like very much: I was rather pleased when I won the
prize. The use of rather in senses 1 and 5 above is rare
in American English, and sounds typically British to most
Americans. They would use fairly, somewhat, or infml
pretty instead for sense 1, and a simple answer such as
'yes' for sense 5. → see also FAIRLY (USAGE)
Rath-er, Dan /ˈræðər/ (1931–) a US ANCHORMAN (=someone
who reads the news on TV and introduces the reports) for
CBS television, who became an anchorman on CBS News in
1981
rat-i-fy /ˈrætɪfaɪ/ v [T] fml to approve (a written agreement)
and make it official by signing it: The heads of the two
governments met to ratify the treaty. —-fication
/ˌrætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ n [U]
rat-ing /ˈreɪtɪŋ/ n 1 [C] the position that someone or some-
thing has on a scale of values or amounts: The President has
a favourable rating in the opinion polls. 2 [C,U] the value of a
building for local tax (RATES): The rating officer came to look
at the farm. 3 [C] the class in which a ship or machine is
placed according to its size: a ship with a rating of 500,000
tons 4 [C] a sailor in the British navy who is not an
officer 5 [the +P] the number of people who watch or listen
to a television or radio programme: This show has done
badly in the ratings. → see also NIELSEN RATINGS 6 [S] the
system of giving a letter to a film, showing who may see it:
The film has been given an X rating.
ra-ti-o /ˈreɪʃiəʊ || ˈreɪʃoʊ/ n pl. -os [(of, to)] a figure showing the
number of times one quantity contains another, used to
show the relationship between two amounts: The ratio of 10
to 5 is 2 to 1. | The ratio of nursing staff to doctors is 2:1. →
compare PROPORTION
ra-ti-o-ci-na-tion /ˌræʃiəˈneɪʃənɒ || ˌræʃiəˈseɪ-, ˌræʃi-oʊˈseɪ-/
n [U] fml or pomp exact and careful thinking
ra-tion¹ /ˈræʃən || ˈræ-, ˈreɪ-/ n [(of)] a share of food, petrol etc,
allowed to one person for a period, especially during a war
or at a time of short supply: the weekly meat ration | The
soldiers were given their rations (of food). | (fig.) We've had our
ration (=lots) of bad luck this year. → see also IRON RATIONS
ration² v [T] 1 [(to)] to limit (someone) to a fixed ration: We
were rationed to two eggs a week. 2 to limit and control
(supplies). In Britain many people remember the period
during and after World War II when many goods were
rationed, especially food, clothes, and petrol. → see also
WORLD WAR II
ration sthg. ↔ out phr v [T] to give out (supplies) as rations:
He rationed out the water to the sailors.
ra-tion-al /ˈræʃənəl/ adj 1 (of a person) having the ability to
think, understand, and make decisions; having reason 2 (of
ideas and behaviour) sensible; based on or according to
reason: a rational explanation/decision → opposite IRRA-
TIONAL —-ly adv —-ity /ˌræʃəˈnælɪti/ n [U]
ra-tio-nale /ˌræʃiəˈnɑːl || -næl/ n [C,U] fml the reasons and
principles on which a system or practice is based
ra-tion-al-ist /ˈræʃənəlɪst/ adj, n (typical of) someone who
bases their opinions and actions on reason, rather than on
feelings or on religious belief —-ism n [U] —-ic
/ˌræʃənəˈlɪstɪk / adj
ra-tion-al-ize also -ise BrE /ˈræʃənəlaɪz/ v [I,T] 1 a) to
explain (something) in a rational way b) to find a reason-
able but perhaps untrue explanation for (one's own behav-
iour or opinions): He rationalized his dislike of
authority. 2 especially BrE to make (a method or system) more
modern and effective and less wasteful: We're rationalizing
the organization of the company to make it more efficient.
—-ization /ˌræʃənəlaɪˈzeɪʃən || -la-/ n [C,U]
'ration book n BrE a book of stamps representing necessary
articles such as food, clothes, petrol etc given out by the
government during World War II and for a time afterwards