at this rate
1. At this pace. Drive faster! At this rate, we'll never get there on time! It doesn't have to be perfect. At this rate, we'll frost one cupcake every hour! I know you want your research paper to be great, but, at this rate, you won't even finish it in time!
2. If this situation persists. All of my friends are getting engaged, and I'm still single. At this rate, I'll be a bridesmaid at least 10 times before I get to be a bride. A: "Come on, I know our sales aren't where they were five years ago, but things aren't all that bad, right?" B: "If we keep going at this rate, the company will be bankrupt by the end of the year." Great, another awful hand of cards. I'll never win my money back at this rate!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
at this rate
at this speed; if things continue in the same way. (Usually of a pessimistic view.) Hurry up! We'll never get there at this rate. At this rate, all the food will be gone before we get there.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
at this rate
Also, at that rate.
1. Progressing at this (or that) speed, as in At this rate we'll never finish in time. [Mid-1600s]
2. Under these circumstances, in that case. For example, At this rate they'll never settle their differences. [Late 1700s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
at ˈthis/ˈthat rate
(spoken) if the situation continues as it is: This traffic’s terrible. At this rate we’ll never get to the airport on time.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017