incidence

[ in-si-duh ns ]

/ ˈɪn sɪ dəns /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR incidence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the rate or range of occurrence or influence of something, especially of something unwanted: the high incidence of heart disease in men over 40.

a falling upon, affecting, or befalling; occurrence: The incidence of murder that Sunday afternoon shocked the sleepy village.

Optics, Physics.

the striking of a ray of light, beam of electrons, etc., on a surface, or the direction of striking.
angle of incidence(def 1).

the fact or the manner of being incident.

Geometry. partial coincidence of two figures, as of a line and a plane containing it.

Nearby words

inchoate, inchoation, inchoative, inchon, inchworm, incidence, incident, incident point, incidental, incidental music, incidental parasite

Origin of incidence

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Late Latin word incidentia. See incident, -ence

Can be confused

incidence incidents incidental

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for incidence

And without a concrete way to measure the incidence of domestic violence, it is purely observational.
Another Hazy Week For Weed|Abby Haglage|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, since the 1970s, our yearly sugar consumption has skyrocketed along with the incidence of diabetes and obesity.
The Heart Association’s Junk Science Diet|Dr. Barbara H. Roberts|May 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This would push food prices up internationally, raising the incidence of hunger, disease and political instability.
Can Generation Hot Avoid Its Fate?|Mark Hertsgaard|April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Does any Indian believe that we will, come Friday, see even a drop in the incidence of rape?
When India Wants the Rapists Hanged|Dilip D’Souza|September 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Only with a regime like that will we see their incidence decrease.
RG-Knee: Stoopid Stoopid Stoopid|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Angle of Incidence, Rigger's—The angle the chord of a surface makes with a line parallel to the axis of the propeller.
The Aeroplane Speaks|H. Barber
It was not uncomfortably and unchangeably cut into fixed portions by the incidence of lunch and dinner.
The Lion's Share|E. Arnold Bennett
The developments that take place are mainly mental in form and are social in their incidence.
A Grammar of Freethought|Chapman Cohen
If its Incidence be made still more oblique, it becomes totally reflected.
Opticks|Isaac Newton
The incidence among children under three years of age was 60 percent, and 1,712 children under age fifteen died.
Area Handbook for Albania|Eugene K. Keefe

British Dictionary definitions for incidence

incidence

/ (ˈɪnsɪdəns) /

noun

degree, extent, or frequency of occurrence; amounta high incidence of death from pneumonia

the act or manner of impinging on or affecting by proximity or influence

physics the arrival of a beam of light or particles at a surfaceSee also angle of incidence

geometry the partial coincidence of two configurations, such as a point that lies on a circle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for incidence

incidence

[ ĭn′sĭ-dəns ]

n.

The extent or rate of occurrence, especially the number of new cases of a disease in a population over a period of time.

The arrival of radiation or a projectile at a surface.

Related forms

in′ci•dent adj.