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

More than half of births in America are described as traumatic, with Black and Indigenous mothers facing significantly higher maternal mortality rates. —Vogue, 22 Jan. 2026

In contrast with these positive trends, the colorectal cancer mortality rate has been the only one that has worsened. —Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026

The maternal mortality rate in Black women is over three times higher than the rate for white women, showcasing that racial disparities in health care persist across the reproductive lifespan. —Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 21 Jan. 2026

From 2016 to 2022, cases of the fungal infection resulted in a mortality rate of 34%, the CDC said. —Natalie Demaree, Sacbee.com, 20 Jan. 2026

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