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

Over the course of the study — one of the largest ever of its kind — the death rate from the syndrome held steady, at 6.5 percent. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 15 May 2025

Medical care improved and the death rate decreased, but cases spiked to epidemic levels every two to three years. —Rebecca Schein, The Conversation, 7 May 2025

The death rate from an infection with C. neoformans is extremely high, up to 61%, especially in patients with HIV infections. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 6 May 2025

Studies have found high dietary fiber intake can lower incidence and death rates due to heart disease. —Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for death rate

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

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