incidence
[in-si-duh ns]
- 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.
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Origin of incidence
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for incidence
Contemporary Examples
And without a concrete way to measure the incidence of domestic violence, it is purely observational.
Meanwhile, since the 1970s, our yearly sugar consumption has skyrocketed along with the incidence of diabetes and obesity.
This would push food prices up internationally, raising the incidence of hunger, disease and political instability.
Does any Indian believe that we will, come Friday, see even a drop in the incidence of rape?
Only with a regime like that will we see their incidence decrease.
Historical Examples
And this it does, through the incidence of bargaining and the law of supply and demand.
SocialismJohn Spargo
There is much room for improvement in the incidence of taxation.
Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877James Kennedy
What about the incidence of penetrating meteors in the mesosphere?
A Fine FixR. C. Noll
This is because, in such a case, it is set at an angle of incidence.
The Aeroplane SpeaksH. Barber
It may then be said to have in effect a less Angle of Incidence.
The Aeroplane SpeaksH. Barber
incidence
- 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
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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
Word Origin and History for incidence
n.
early 15c., "incidental matter," from Middle French incidence (15c.), from Late Latin incidentia (see incident (n.)). Meaning "act of coming into contact with" is from 1650s; sense in physics is from 1620s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
incidence
(ĭn′sĭ-dəns)- 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.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.