Meaning & use
work rate
Last updated
UK/ˈwɜːk reɪt/
US/ˈwɜːrk reɪt/
Meaning
nouncountable
The speed or amount of effort with which someone works.
Grammar: Often used in sports and jobs: his work rate is high.
Patterns
- a high work rate
- a low work rate
- improve your work rate
The coach praised her work rate in training.
He has a high work rate and finishes tasks early.
A low work rate can slow down the whole team.
Word forms
| plural | work rates |
|---|
Common combinations
- high work rate
- Her high work rate impressed the manager.
- low work rate
- A low work rate often leads to missed deadlines.
- improve work rate
- The new system helped improve work rate.
- maintain a work rate
- It is hard to maintain a high work rate all day.
Synonyms and how they differ
- productivity
- Productivity means how much useful work is produced, often measured over time; work rate is more about speed and effort.
- pace
- Pace means speed, especially of an activity; work rate suggests effort as well as speed.
Commonly confused: work rate or workrate?
work rate vs workrate
Some people write it as one word, but the standard spelling is two words: work rate.
Practice
The coach said the team needed to ___ their work rate in the second half.
Choose one answer.
After 'needed to', we use the base verb 'improve'. 'Improvement' is a noun, and 'improving' or 'improved' do not fit after 'to' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “work rate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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