case rate

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The number of people in a group who have a particular disease or condition, often shown for a fixed number of people.

   Grammar: Countable: you can talk about one case rate or several case rates, and it is usually followed by 'of' plus the disease.

   Patterns

   • the case rate of something
   • a case rate of X per 100,000
   • case rates rise/fall

   The case rate of measles has fallen since the vaccination program began.

   Officials reported a case rate of 45 per 100,000 people last month.

   Case rates in the northern region are twice as high as in the south.

2. 2nouncountable

   The speed at which new cases of a disease are being recorded in a population over a period.

   Grammar: Often used with verbs like rise, fall, or double when talking about change over time.

   Patterns

   • the case rate is rising
   • a falling case rate
   • track the case rate

   Health workers track the case rate week by week to spot new outbreaks.

   The case rate doubled in the two weeks after the holiday.

   A falling case rate allowed the school to reopen.

Word forms

Common combinations

high case rate

The city has a high case rate compared with nearby towns.

case rate per 100,000

The report gives the case rate per 100,000 residents.

case rate falls

The case rate fell steadily through the spring.

report a case rate

Clinics must report their case rate to the health department.

Synonyms and how they differ

incidence rate

More technical and usually means new cases per person per unit of time, while 'case rate' can also mean the total share of people affected.

prevalence

This means how many people have the disease at one moment, not how many new cases appear.

Word family

case noun

One instance of a disease in a person.

Commonly confused: case rate or case study?

Practice

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