Meaning & use
day rate
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The amount of money a worker or company is paid for each day of work.
Grammar: Countable: you can say "a day rate", "day rates" or "her day rate".
Patterns
- a day rate of $400
- pay someone a day rate
- charge a day rate
- on a day rate
Freelance translators here usually charge a day rate of about $350.
The agency offered him a day rate instead of a monthly salary, so he gets paid only for the days he works.
Our day rate includes travel time, but not hotel costs.
nouncountable
The price charged for renting a room, vehicle, or piece of equipment for one day.
Grammar: Often followed by "for" or "of": "a day rate for the van".
Patterns
- the day rate for something
- a day rate of £60
- at a day rate
The hotel's day rate is cheaper than booking a full week.
They hired the camera at a day rate of £60, with a discount for three days or more.
Word forms
| plural | day rates |
|---|
Common combinations
- charge a day rate
- Most consultants charge a day rate rather than an hourly one.
- a competitive day rate
- They advertised a competitive day rate to attract experienced staff.
- on a day rate
- She works on a day rate, so quiet weeks mean less money.
- day rate plus expenses
- The contract is a day rate plus expenses for travel and meals.
- agree a day rate
- We agreed a day rate before the project started.
Synonyms and how they differ
- daily rate
- Almost the same, but "daily rate" is more common in finance and insurance for interest, fees, or charges rather than pay for work.
- day wage
- Refers specifically to pay for manual or casual work and sounds older; "day rate" fits office, creative, and technical jobs too.
- fee
- A more general word for money paid for a service; it does not say whether the amount is per day, per project, or per hour.
Word family
- rate noun
- A fixed amount or level used for measuring or charging something.
- daywork noun
- Work paid for by the day, especially in construction; rare outside technical contexts.
Commonly confused: day rate or daily rate? day rate or per diem?
day rate vs daily rate
In banking and insurance this means the interest or charge applied for one day, not what a person earns for a day's work.
day rate vs per diem
A Latin phrase used mainly in American English for a daily allowance covering food and travel, not a full fee for a day's work.
Practice
Which sentence uses "day rate" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"A day rate" is a countable noun phrase, so it needs the article "a" and stays singular after "a". Option 2 adds "every hour", which contradicts the daily idea; option 3 drops the article; option 4 wrongly uses the plural after "a".
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “day rate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.