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

These cases are akin to those recorded historically in Asia and the Middle East, where the H5N1 virus had resulted in a mortality rate of roughly 50%. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024

The grassroots initiative seeks to pay for midwife services for expectant mothers in hopes of combatting rising maternal mortality rates in America. —Janine Rubenstein, People.com, 19 Nov. 2024

Arkansas' high maternal mortality rate was of particular, personal concern for her, Bertagnolli said. —Doug Thompson, arkansasonline.com, 23 Oct. 2024

The American Cancer Society’s report shared that while breast cancer incidence rates among Black and white women are similar, mortality rates are markedly different, with Black women having a 38 percent higher death rate from breast cancer. —Dominique Fluker, Essence, 21 Oct. 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