mortality rate

American  

[mawr-tal-i-tee rayt] / mɔrˈtæl ɪ ti ˌreɪt /

noun

• mortality rates
  plural

1. the relative frequency of deaths in a specific population during a specified time, often cited as the percentage of human deaths during a public health crisis, or of wildlife deaths due to environmental perils.

   Patients over the age of 80 had the highest mortality rate during the last flu season.

   The mortality rate of the bald eagle falls to about 25 percent after the first year of life.

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mortality rate British  

noun

1. another term for death rate

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mortality rates
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mortality rate

First recorded in 1860–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mortality rate

According to the report, there were about 689 deaths for every 100,000 people in 2025 — the lowest rate recorded since mortality rate tracking began.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

But the first weeks of a red panda’s life are fragile, with a mortality rate of roughly 40% for cubs under 1 year of age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

“No humans were harmed during the making of this program” could be the teaser to “World’s Biggest Sharks,” though leading with a low mortality rate wouldn’t be ideal for the “Sharkfest” brand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

The mortality rate was 30 to 50 percent.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

But that changed when the federal government ordered the hospitals to be desegregated: within just seven years, the black infant mortality rate had been cut in half.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

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