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

While breast cancer affects women more than any other type of cancer, Black women face a unique disparity, having a 40% higher mortality rate than other demographics, per the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. —Giana Levy, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025

This suggests Wisconsin's higher-than-average mortality rate may be linked to regional factors that don't end at its state borders, according report. —Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 29 Sep. 2025

How will extreme weather and dis-investment in health research affect mortality rates? —Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025

Advertisement That has helped save tens of millions of lives, contributed to a reduction by half of mortality rates of children under five, put developing countries on a better economic trajectory, and substantially reduced the chances that infectious diseases emerge and spread. —Dr. Seth Berkley, Time, 26 Sep. 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