# base rate

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A benchmark interest rate, from which other interest rates are calculated; a policy rate.
2. A benchmark interest rate, from which other interest rates are calculated; a policy rate.
3. The 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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/base-rate