death rate

noun

plural death rates
: the ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified population during a particular time period : the incidence of deaths in a given population during a defined time period (such as one year) that is typically expressed per 1000 or 100,000 individuals : mortality rate
an annual death rate of 15 deaths per 1000 people

Note: A crude death rate does not distinguish between specific causes of death or groups of individuals and measures the incidence of all deaths in a population during a given time period. More specific death rates are based on narrower categories of individuals or causes of death.

an infant death rate of 9 deaths per 1000 live births
Ebola is infamous for being highly contagious and causing death rates as high as 90 percent in some human outbreaks.Brendan Borrell

Examples of death rate in a Sentence

There was a decline in the country's death rate after its health care improved. Lung cancer death rates are up. The death rate from accidents is rising.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Hospitalizations and emergency department visits are also on the rise, and death rates for COVID-19 are at 1.8%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Megan Forrester, ABC News, 31 Jan. 2025 The exceptionally high death rate among inmates at Syria’s archipelago of prisons and detention centers is well known. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Jan. 2025 Similarly, death rates for kidney, liver, stomach and cervical cancers among Native Americans are two to three times those seen in White people. Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 16 Jan. 2025 County jails may be able to improve access to medical care and lower death rates behind bars through healthcare accreditation — but the process still leaves inmates frustrated by low standards of care. Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for death rate

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of death rate was in 1849

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Cite this Entry

“Death rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20rate. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

death rate

noun
: the proportion of deaths in a population that is often expressed as the number of individuals that die in a year per thousand individuals in the population at the beginning of the year

Medical Definition

death rate

noun
: the ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified population and time period : the incidence of deaths in a given population during a defined time period (as one year) that is typically expressed per 1000 or 100,000 individuals : mortality rate
an annual death rate of 715 deaths per 100,000 individuals

Note: A crude death rate does not distinguish between specific causes of death or groups of individuals and measures the incidence of all deaths in a population during a given time period. More specific death rates are based on narrower categories of individuals or causes of death.

an infant death rate of 9 deaths per 1000 live births
The pravastatin group had a 24% lower death rate than the placebo group.Harvard Health Letter
Ebola is infamous for being highly contagious and causing death rates as high as 90 percent in some human outbreaks.Brendan Borrell, Scientific American
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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