vital statistics

Definition of vital statistics

1 : statistics relating to births, deaths, marriages, health, and disease

2a : facts (such as physical dimensions or quantities) considered to be interesting or important She proudly ticked off the show's other vital statistics—17 special exhibits spread over 60,000 square feet, quilts from 25 countries, 150 exhibitors who staffed 210 booths …— Joseph Harriss Monday afternoon of the week before our game with Pitt last year, a note suddenly appeared on our locker room "clobber board"—the bulletin board we use to post pictures and vital statistics of opposing players.— Ara Parseghian with John McDermott

b informal + sometimes offensive : a woman's bust, waist, and hip measurements They ran ads in Russian newspapers asking women to send photos and vital statistics … — Time

Examples of vital statistics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In this vital statistic, the United States is even worse than Iran. — Trish Bendix, New York Times, "Trump’s Low Approval Ratings Don’t Surprise Seth Meyers," 14 May 2020 The small nation’s vital statistics are as bad as at any time since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. — Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, "Why Lebanese protesters are risking a return to the streets," 6 May 2020 Are Dallas vital statistics or Dallas passport offices reopening under the new order? — Dallas News, "Texas businesses are days away from reopening. Here’s what readers wanted to know about Abbott’s plan," 29 Apr. 2020 They are compiled by CDC experts under a national vital statistics program that aggregates deaths reported by local and state health authorities. — Matt Stiles, Los Angeles Times, "Coronavirus death toll higher in California than previously known, new data suggest," 29 Apr. 2020 All are to be reported to vital statistics, which falls under the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. — Deborah Yetter, The Courier-Journal, "Bill to allow state audits of abortion reports advances after heated debate," 5 Mar. 2020 Sigurðsson read a list of vital statistics from Okjökull’s death certificate. — Lacy M. Johnson, The New Yorker, "How to Mourn a Glacier," 17 Oct. 2016 It was championed by Walter Plecker, the state's first head of vital statistics and an advocate of eugenics. — Hollie Silverman, CNN, "3 couples are suing Virginia after being denied marriage licenses because they refused to disclose their race," 10 Sep. 2019 Any state has to collect taxes, make payments from its treasury, register vehicles, keep vital statistics of births and deaths and track employment levels and unemployment rates. — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, "Real World Economics: What Dorian tells us about risk and scale," 8 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vital statistics.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

17 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Vital statistics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vital%20statistics. Accessed 26 May. 2020.

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