The utilization rate refers to how much of a resource is being used or consumed. It represents the percentage of available capacity that has been put into use, and can be calculated by dividing the amount of usage by the total potential for that particular resource. For example, if there are 100 hours of work available in a week but only 80 hours have been utilized, then the utilization rate would be 80%. This metric is commonly used to measure efficiency and productivity across various industries such as manufacturing or healthcare.