Meanings
nounincidence (countable and uncountable, plural incidences)
plural incidences
- countableuncountableThe act of something happening; occurrence.
- countableuncountableThe manner of falling; bearing or onus, as of a tax that falls unequally.
- countableuncountablenatural sciencesThe striking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe relative frequency of occurrence of something
Similar
relative incidence
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinincidens
- Medieval Latinincidentia“a falling upon”
- Middle Frenchincidence
- Englishincidence
From Middle French incidence, from Medieval Latin incidentia (“a falling upon”), from Latin incidens, present participle of incidere (“to fall upon”), from in (“on”) + cadere (“to fall”).
More words from Middle French, Medieval Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian случване, падане
- случване (slučvane)act of something happening
- падане (padane)striking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface
Chinese Mandarin 發病率 /发病率, 發生率 /发生率
- 發病率 /发病率 (fābìnglǜ)epidemiology: measure of the rate of new occurrence of a given medical condition
- 發生率 /发生率 (fāshēnglǜ)epidemiology: measure of the rate of new occurrence of a given medical condition
Danish incidens
- incidensepidemiology: measure of the rate of new occurrence of a given medical condition
Esperanto alfalo
- alfalostriking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface
Finnish tapahtuma, tapaus
- tapahtumaact of something happening
- tapausact of something happening
- esiintymistiheysextent, or the relative frequency of something happening
- kohdistuminenmanner of falling; bearing or onus, as of a tax
- kohtaaminenstriking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface
- kohdistuminenstriking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface
- osuminenstriking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface
- ilmaantuvuusepidemiology: measure of the rate of new occurrence of a given medical condition
- kuuluminengeometry: falling of a point on a line, or a line on a plane
German Auftreten, Vorkommen
- Auftretenact of something happening
- Vorkommenact of something happening
- Auftretenshäufigkeitextent, or the relative frequency of something happening
- Inzidenzepidemiology: measure of the rate of new occurrence of a given medical condition
Hebrew מקרה, מידה
- מקרה (mikré)act of something happening
- מידה (midá)extent, or the relative frequency of something happening
Hungarian előfordulás
- előfordulásact of something happening
Irish ionsaitheacht
- ionsaitheachtstriking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface
Russian инциде́нтность, паде́ние
- инциде́нтность (incidéntnostʹ)extent, or the relative frequency of something happening
- паде́ние (padénije)striking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface
Spanish incidencia
- incidenciaact of something happening
Swedish incidens
- incidensextent, or the relative frequency of something happening
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
incidents (some accents)
Cite this entry
APA
incidence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/incidence
MLA
“incidence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/incidence. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “incidence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/incidence.
Source: incidence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.