death rate

noun

plural death rates

Definition of death rate

: 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 Runge said the death rate from cardiovascular disease went up 3% in 2020 after years of steady declines because people delayed treatment. — Celina Tebor, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2021 Runge said the death rate from cardiovascular disease went up 3% in 2020 after years of steady declines because people delayed treatment. — Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 9 Dec. 2021 Alabama has seen at least 15,629 covid-19-related deaths, and has the second-highest per capita death rate from covid-19 among states, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University. — Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2021 That death toll would render heat more deadly than diabetes, and close to the death rate from lung disease. — Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2021 The state’s per capita death rate from the virus over the past seven days is now the highest in the nation, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Annie Berman, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2021 Meanwhile, studies show that another rheumatoid arthritis drug, Actemra (tocilizumab), may reduce the death rate from Covid-19. — Robert Goldberg, STAT, 30 Sep. 2021 Since the 1920s, the global death rate from extreme weather events, for instance, has fallen by 98% despite the tripling of the world’s population. — Tilak Doshi, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2021 The issue then was Fauci — whose association with the National Institutes of Health goes back to the 1960s — being seen as dragging his feet on experimental treatments for HIV and AIDS while the death rate from the incurable disease skyrocketed. — Chris Willman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'death rate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries Near death rate

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Statistics for death rate

Last Updated

16 Jan 2022

Cite this Entry

“Death rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20rate. Accessed 19 Jan. 2022.

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More Definitions for death rate

death rate

noun

English Language Learners Definition of death rate

: a number that shows how many people died in a particular place or during a particular time

: the number of deaths from a specific cause in a particular area during a particular time period

See the full definition for death rate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

death rate

noun

Medical Definition of death rate

: 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

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