From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprime rateˈprime ˌrate noun [countable] BFLthe lowest rate of interest at which companies can borrow money from a bank → base rate
Examples from the Corpus
prime rate• That includes containing increases in corporate lending rates like the long-term prime rate.• The long-term prime rate had been at a record low 2. 6 percent since early December.• Today, the prime rate is 2. 83 percentage points higher than the yield on a 10-year government note.• The interest rate may be fixed, or it may float with the prime rate.• At the time of writing, the prime rate is 8 percent and the rate of inflation is under 4 percent.From Longman Business Dictionaryprime rateˌprime ˈrate (also prime lending rate)FINANCEBANKING the most favourable interest rate for borrowing money, given by a bank to customers with the lowest risk of not repaying the loanThe prime rate is the base for various bank lending charges. → rate 