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

In 2022, the mortality rate ranged from about 204 deaths for every 100,000 women of reproductive age in West Virginia to around 71 deaths per 100,000 in Hawaii, the report says. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 18 July 2024

Sign up The area also saw excessive saltwater intrusion, which has been known to cause higher mortality rates among tree cacti. —Devika Rao, theweek, 17 July 2024

Past research has shown higher mortality rates for tree cactuses in saltier soil. —Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, 13 July 2024

But the the Cradle Cincinnati report found the mortality rate for Black infants also improved in 2023, falling to single digits for the first time on record. —Ruth Cronin, The Enquirer, 11 July 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