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

The mortality rate for Black women diagnosed with breast cancer is 42 percent higher than that of white women. —Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2025

According to the Office of Minority Health, with colon cancer, or colorectal cancer, from 2019 to 2023, Black men were found to have a five-year mortality rate that’s 37% higher than the overall population of American men. —Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 15 Oct. 2025

Life expectancy is back to pre-pandemic levels, according to global health research — but mortality rates for teens and young adults are of growing concern. —Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025

Despite the increase in numbers, mortality rates are on the rise. —Molly Absolon, Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mortality rate

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

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