base rate
Say it: BASE rate /ˈbeɪs reɪt/ · noun
What “base rate” means
How common something is in the wider group.
More precisely: How common something is in general, which people often ignore when judging a specific case.
Example: “Before panicking about a rare disease, remember the base rate: it affects one in a million.”
When to use it
In statistics or everyday judgement, for the background frequency you should consider before drawing conclusions about one particular case.
Similar words
prior probability, background rate
Quick check
Before guessing whether a randomly chosen bus is late, you check how often all buses run late. You're considering…
the sample size or the base rate?
Show the answer
the base rate
Learn 5 new words a day in Kinquire. Each with a picture, how to say it, an example and a quick check, then spaced review so you actually keep them. Free to start.
Learn “base rate”