metabolic rate

IPA/met.əˌbɒl.ɪk ˈreɪt/
IPA/met̬.əˈbɑː.lɪk ˌreɪt/

metabolic rate — noun

1. how fast a person's or animal's body burns food to make the energy it needs to l

1.nounB2
Definition

how fast a person's or animal's body burns food to make the energy it needs to live and move.

Example

Athletes like Mizuki often have a high metabolic rate from years of hard training.

adjective collocation: a high metabolic rate

As people grow older, their metabolic rate slows down and weight gain becomes easier.

Common collocations
  • high metabolic rate
  • low metabolic rate
  • slow metabolic rate
  • boost your metabolic rate
Synonyms
  • metabolism

    the whole set of chemical processes in the body; metabolic rate is specifically their speed

  • basal metabolic rate

    a narrower term — the rate measured when the body is completely at rest

Usage Note

Usually countable and paired with a level adjective (high, low, fast, slow) or a change verb (raise, lower, slow, boost), rather than standing alone.

Common Mistakes

a high metabolism rate
a high metabolic rate
use the adjective 'metabolic' before 'rate', not the noun 'metabolism'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These terms all touch on how the body handles energy, but they are not the same. 'Metabolism' is the broadest word: it names the whole web of chemical reactions that keep a living thing going. 'Metabolic rate' is narrower — it is the speed of that process, so you can have a fast or slow one. 'Basal metabolic rate' is narrower still, fixing that speed to a single condition: the body fully at rest, doing nothing but staying alive. 'Calorie burn' is the everyday, informal cousin used in fitness apps and gyms, pointing to roughly the same idea without the scientific tone. A trainer might say 'this workout boosts your calorie burn', while a doctor would write 'the patient has a low basal metabolic rate'.

metabolism ↗basal metabolic ratecalorie burn

Common collocations

Verbs

Phrases

  • basal metabolic rate
  • resting metabolic rate

Adjectives

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The adjective 'metabolic' goes back to Greek 'metabolē', meaning 'change' (from 'meta-', change, plus 'ballein', to throw). 'Rate' comes through French from Latin 'rata', a fixed or reckoned amount. Scientists joined the two in the modern era to name how quickly the body's chemical changes turn food into usable energy.