fatality rate

noun

plural fatality rates

: the number of deaths from a specific cause

Last year, South Carolina had the nation's third-highest highway fatality rate, with 1,064 people killed in wrecks on the state's roads.

—Joseph S. Stroud

McGuire is a practitioner of what he calls the king of all extreme sports. BASE—an acronym for building, antenna, span (bridge) and earth (cliffs)—jumping has one of the sporting world's highest fatality rates: in its 18-year history, 46 participants have been killed.

—Karl Taro Greenfield

specifically : case fatality rate

Dysentery, in which fatality rates in untreated cases range as high as 50 percent, is especially dangerous to children.

—James C. Riley

Examples of fatality rate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, a study conducted by TIME in 2015 found that the middle seats in the back of the aircraft were those with the lowest fatality rates, the worst-faring seats were on the aisle in the middle-third of the cabin. —Rebecca Schneid, Time, 13 June 2025

In the 56 people who became ill within 10 days of being vaccinated, there were nine deaths, a far lower fatality rate than expected for Ebola and a strong indication that the vaccine offered partial protection. —Byjon Cohen, science.org, 24 Jan. 2025

In 2024, an analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's vehicle fatality rate data found that, actually, Tesla was the deadliest brand of car on sale in the US. —ArsTechnica, 23 Apr. 2025

The outlet found a 32 percent fatality rate for that portion of the aircraft. —Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fatality rate

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

Medical Definition

fatality rate

noun

: the number of deaths from a specific cause

… the inclusion of air bags and other design improvements in vehicles, the use of seat belts and even the increasing maturity of the driving population have combined to lower the fatality rate on U. S. highways by 29 percent since 1987.

—Stefan Thomke et al., Scientific American

specifically : case fatality rate

Dysentery, in which fatality rates in untreated cases range as high as 50 percent, is especially dangerous to children.

—James C. Riley, The American Historical Review