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.
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
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.
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.