rate capn.
/ˈreɪt kap/, U.S. /ˈreɪt ˌkæp/ 1. gen. An upper limit imposed on a rate of interest, scale of charges, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > the greatest amount or quantity > quality of being maximal > maximum > maximum permitted
maximum1801
allowance1833
quota1891
quota1921
allowable1932
cap1947
rate cap1976
1976 Sun (Lowell, Mass.) 3 Dec. 37/3 Administration officials say the only alternate to a rate cap may be to reduce services.
1982 P. W. Samors & S. Sullivan in J. A. Meyer Meeting Human Needs iv. 381 Instead of a promising set of reforms, both the Reagan administration and its predecessors have offered a continuation of budget ceilings, rate caps, and cost shifting.
1991 N.Y. Times 21 Nov. a27/5 When he offered the innocent suggestion that credit-card interest rates were too high, the Senate mistakenly thought he must have known what he was talking about, and hastened to approve a rate cap.
2003 Waste Age (Nexis) June Deviant haulers have been making a profit by charging more than the rate cap allows.
2. British (now chiefly historical), Australian, and New Zealand. An upper limit on the amount of money which a local authority can spend and also levy through rates, imposed through rate-capping.
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1983 Times 16 Dec. 2/1 (heading) Rotarian Tendency girds loins for rate-cap battle.
1987 Guardian 14 Jan. 1/2 The rate cap takes no account of the effects of the outcome of the current negotiations on the teachers' pay settlement.
2006 Waikato Times (Hamilton, N.Z.) (Nexis) 26 Aug. 5 Thames-Coromandel Mayor Philippa Barriball said to look at rate caps in isolation was unworkable.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1976