1. fourth rate - Noun
2. fourth rate - Adjective
fourth rate (not comparable)
Alternative spelling of fourth-rate
fourth rate (plural fourth rates)
Alternative spelling of fourth-rate
(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 50–60 guns across two gun decks, a complement of 320–420, and weighing approximately 1,000 tons burthen.
(idiomatic, uncommon) Terrible, awful; less than third-rate.
fourth-rate (plural fourth-rates)
(UK, military, nautical, historical) A fourth-rate ship of the line.
fourth-rate