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
But from the 1830s to 1850s, New York City’s mortality rate doubled amid a string of local cholera epidemics.
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Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025
Cancer incidence is also higher in certain racial minority populations—for example, the cancer mortality rate in Black men is 16 percent higher than in white men, and Hispanic people are almost twice as likely to acquire stomach or liver cancer than white people.
—Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025
Tarrant County had the fourth highest maternal mortality rate among Texas counties with at least 100,000 residents in 2019.
—Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Jan. 2025
Overall, maternal mortality rates have increased by 56% since the ban was imposed in 2021.
—Katie Scofield, The Conversation, 27 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mortality rate 
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Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025
Cancer incidence is also higher in certain racial minority populations—for example, the cancer mortality rate in Black men is 16 percent higher than in white men, and Hispanic people are almost twice as likely to acquire stomach or liver cancer than white people.
—Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025
Tarrant County had the fourth highest maternal mortality rate among Texas counties with at least 100,000 residents in 2019.
—Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Jan. 2025
Overall, maternal mortality rates have increased by 56% since the ban was imposed in 2021.
—Katie Scofield, The Conversation, 27 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mortality rate
Dictionary Entries Near mortality rate
Cite this Entry
“Mortality rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortality%20rate. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
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