birth rate

noun

variants or birthrate

ˈbərth-ˌrāt 

: the ratio between births and individuals in a specified population and time

Examples of birth rate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Western birth rate, of course, is plummeting too. —Literary Hub, 16 June 2026

Hudson and Moscoso Boedo's teen birth rate study specifically cites the American Time Use Survey, which documented a 44% decline in in-person socializing among teens between ages 15 and 19, from 2003 to 2019. —Greta Cross, USA Today, 13 June 2026

Net migration and the birth rate fell last year. —Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 13 June 2026

New research is linking America’s plummeting birth rate to the rise of the iPhone, providing evidence that smartphone use is causing people to have fewer children. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 12 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1856, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for birth rate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

birthrate

noun

birth·​rate -ˌrāt 

: the number of births for every hundred or every thousand persons in a given area or group during a given time

Medical Definition

birth rate

noun

variants or birthrate

ˈbər-ˌthrāt 

: the ratio between births and individuals in a specified population and time often expressed as number of live births per hundred or per thousand population per year

called also natality