[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/prevalence/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [P](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/p/) / prevalence

# prevalence

noun (prevalence, uncountable)

«prevalence» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

How common or widespread something is in a place or group at a given time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/#m1)

### In the lessons

Used in science, health and news: «the prevalence of asthma in children», «the prevalence of mobile phones». In maths and statistics, prevalence is often given as a percentage or a fraction of a group.

### Examples

- The prevalence of head lice goes up when school starts. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/#x1)
- The survey studied the prevalence of short-sightedness. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/#x2)
- The prevalence of smartphones has changed how people talk. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/#x3)
- Scientists measured the prevalence of the disease. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/#x4)
- The prevalence of plastic on beaches is shocking. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/#x5)
- Allergies have a higher prevalence than they used to. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable. Adjective: prevalent. In maths: if 20 out of 100 children have glasses, the prevalence is 20%, or 1 in 5. Not the same as «incidence», which counts new cases in a time period.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «prevalence» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prevalence/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«prevalence» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/prevalence.html) on Mova free.