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

American Indian or Alaska Native infants saw a mortality rate 1.5 times higher than white infants. —Maia Pandey, Journal Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2024

But that hasn't always been the case with this elusive virus; other H5N1 subtypes that have spread globally since the late 1990s have had mortality rates that topped 50%, the CDC reported. —Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 23 July 2024

Previous census data had already shown that those in Richmond who live around the rail line have mortality rates 10 to 50 percent higher than the county average. —Bárbara Pinho, Ars Technica, 19 July 2024

The mortality rate for free solo climbers is a fact Honnold casually accepts. —Eric Farwell and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 17 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined above

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