mortality rate

noun

plural mortality rates

: the ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified population and 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 : death rate

an annual mortality rate of 15 deaths per 1000 people

Note: A crude mortality 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 mortality rates are based on narrower categories of individuals or causes of death.

an infant mortality rate of 9 deaths per 1000 live births

mortality rates of lung cancer patients

infectious disease mortality rates

Examples of mortality rate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, which is particularly high for Black women due to widespread racial bias. —Carson Meyer, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Black women in the US experience significantly higher maternal mortality rates than white women, with data from 2023 showing a rate of 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 14.5 for white women. —India Espy-Jones, Essence, 26 Mar. 2025

The World Health Organization and United Nations say the country has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world. —Ari Daniel, NPR, 19 Mar. 2025

Chad has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the world, with 1,063 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, according to U.N. data. —Ellie Kaufman, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mortality rate

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate

Medical Definition

mortality rate

noun

: the ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified population and 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 : death rate

an annual mortality rate of 15 deaths per 1000 people

Note: A crude mortality 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 mortality rates are based on narrower categories of individuals or causes of death.

mortality rates of liver cancer patients

an infant mortality rate of 9 deaths per 1000 live births