fatality rate
noun
plural fatality rates
: the number of deaths from a specific cause
Last year, South Carolina had the nation's third-highest highway fatality rate, with 1,064 people killed in wrecks on the state's roads.—
Joseph S. Stroud
Joseph S. StroudMcGuire is a practitioner of what he calls the king of all extreme sports. BASE—an acronym for building, antenna, span (bridge) and earth (cliffs)—jumping has one of the sporting world's highest fatality rates: in its 18-year history, 46 participants have been killed.—Karl Taro Greenfield
Karl Taro Greenfield
specifically
: case fatality rate
Dysentery, in which fatality rates in untreated cases range as high as 50 percent, is especially dangerous to children. —James C. Riley
James C. Riley Examples of fatality rate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Measles normally has a fatality rate of about one to three deaths out of every 1,000 children infected.
—Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 16 Apr. 2025
Given that there have already been three deaths in the outbreak—and measles is estimated to have a fatality rate of 1 to 3 in 1,000—some experts expect a significant number of cases are being missed.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2025
Measles would normally be expected to have a fatality rate of about one to three deaths out of every 1,000 children infected, the CDC says, so the number of deaths this year suggests there may be far more cases going uncounted.
—Paula Cohen, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2025
The magazine found that the most dangerous seats in terms of row position were aisle seats in the middle third of the cabin, which had a 44 percent fatality rate.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
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Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 16 Apr. 2025
Given that there have already been three deaths in the outbreak—and measles is estimated to have a fatality rate of 1 to 3 in 1,000—some experts expect a significant number of cases are being missed.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2025
Measles would normally be expected to have a fatality rate of about one to three deaths out of every 1,000 children infected, the CDC says, so the number of deaths this year suggests there may be far more cases going uncounted.
—Paula Cohen, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2025
The magazine found that the most dangerous seats in terms of row position were aisle seats in the middle third of the cabin, which had a 44 percent fatality rate.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fatality rate
Cite this Entry
“Fatality rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatality%20rate. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
fatality rate
noun
: the number of deaths from a specific cause
… the inclusion of air bags and other design improvements in vehicles, the use of seat belts and even the increasing maturity of the driving population have combined to lower the fatality rate on U. S. highways by 29 percent since 1987.—Stefan Thomke et al., Scientific American
Stefan Thomke et al., Scientific American
specifically
: case fatality rate
Dysentery, in which fatality rates in untreated cases range as high as 50 percent, is especially dangerous to children. —James C. Riley, The American Historical Review
James C. Riley, The American Historical Review Love words? Need even more definitions?
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