The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Rate \Rate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rated; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Rating.]
   1. To set a certain estimate on; to value at a certain price
      or degree.
      [1913 Webster]

            To rate a man by the nature of his companions is a
            rule frequent indeed, but not infallible. --South.
      [1913 Webster]

            You seem not high enough your joys to rate.
                                                  --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To assess for the payment of a rate or tax.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To settle the relative scale, rank, position, amount,
      value, or quality of; as, to rate a ship; to rate a
      seaman; to rate a pension.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To ratify. [Obs.] "To rate the truce." --Chapman.
      [1913 Webster]

   To rate a chronometer, to ascertain the exact rate of its
      gain or loss as compared with true time, so as to make an
      allowance or computation dependent thereon.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: To value; appraise; estimate; reckon.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

rating
    n 1: an appraisal of the value of something; "he set a high
         valuation on friendship" [syn: evaluation, valuation,
         rating]
    2: act of ascertaining or fixing the value or worth of [syn:
       evaluation, rating]
    3: standing or position on a scale
    4: rank in a military organization [syn: military rank,
       military rating, paygrade, rating]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

168 Moby Thesaurus words for "rating":
   abuse, admonishment, admonition, analysis, analyzing, appraisal,
   appraisement, appraising, appreciation, apprizal, approximation,
   arrangement, assailing, assault, assessing, assessment, assize,
   assizement, attack, bank credit, berating, bitter words,
   blackening, blood, book credit, borrowing power, bracket, branch,
   calculation, cash credit, caste, castigation, cataloging,
   categorization, category, chastisement, chiding, clan, class,
   classification, codification, commercial credit, computation,
   condition, consumer credit, contumely, correction, credit,
   credit insurance, credit rating, credit union, determination,
   diatribe, division, dual pricing, echelon, estate, estimate,
   estimation, evaluating, evaluation, evaluative criticism,
   execration, filing, footing, gauging, grade, grading, group,
   grouping, hard words, head, heading, hierarchy, hire purchase plan,
   indexing, installment credit, installment plan, instrumentation,
   invective, investment credit, jawing, jeremiad, kin, label,
   lecture, lesson, level, line of credit, measure, measurement,
   measuring, mensuration, metric system, never-never, objurgation,
   onslaught, opinion, order, philippic, pigeonhole, pigeonholing,
   place, placement, position, power structure, precedence,
   predicament, price determination, pricing, quantification,
   quantization, race, ranging, rank, ranking, rate, rebuke,
   reckoning, reprehension, reprimand, reproach, reprobation, reproof,
   reproval, revilement, rubric, scolding, screed, section, sept,
   sermon, set, sorting, spanking, sphere, stage, standing, station,
   status, strain, stratification, stratum, subdivision, subgroup,
   suborder, survey, surveying, tabulation, tax credit, taxonomy,
   telemetering, telemetry, tick, tirade, title, tongue-lashing,
   triangulation, trust, typology, unit pricing, upbraiding,
   valuation, valuing, view, vilification, vituperation, weighing