ratio

noun

ra·​tio ˈrā-shē-ˌō 

-(ˌ)shō

plural ratios

1

a

: the indicated quotient of two mathematical expressions

b

: the relationship in quantity, amount, or size between two or more things : proportion

2

: the expression of the relative values of gold and silver as determined by a country's currency laws

Synonyms of ratio

• rate

Examples of ratio in a Sentence

What is the length-to-width ratio?

the ratio of students to teachers in the school is nine to one

Recent Examples on the Web

Trajectory of labor force participation rates, employment to population ratios and unemployment data will be important guideposts to how Americans are experiencing the jobs market, said Cory Stahle, economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab. —Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 15 Dec. 2025

Tunguz, founder of Theory Ventures, said the other company with a notably high ratio, at 120%, is CoreWeave, which provides cloud computing services built largely around Nvidia's graphics processing units. —Ari Levy, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2025

Instead, lenders will typically rely on your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio to determine whether your debt level is healthy or concerning. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 15 Dec. 2025

Researchers considered factors such as restaurant availability, the share of independent establishments, average menu prices, and the ratio of household dining spending to income. —Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, computation, reason — more at reason entry 1

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing ratio

• aspect ratio
• case fatality ratio
• common ratio
• focal ratio
• golden ratio
• gyromagnetic ratio
• loss ratio
• nutritive ratio
• Poisson's ratio
• price-earnings ratio
• ultima ratio

Rhymes for ratio

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

ratio

noun

ra·​tio ˈrā-shō 

-shē-ˌō

plural ratios

1

: the quotient of two numbers or mathematical expressions

the ratio of 6 to 3 may be expressed as 6:3, ⁶⁄₃, and 2

2

: the relationship in quantity, amount, or size between two or more things

women outnumbered men in the ratio of three to one

Medical Definition

ratio

noun

ra·​tio ˈrā-(ˌ)shō, -shē-ˌō 

plural ratios

: the relationship in quantity, amount, or size between two or more things see sex ratio