Definition of ratio
ratios
1a : the indicated quotient of two mathematical expressionsb : 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
People Are Reading
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 of ratio from the Web
-
Schwab and iShares have ETFs that track the broad U.S. stock market with expense ratios of just 0.03 percent, for example.
-
Using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data, the website Climate Signals tracks this ratio too.
-
According to IRS statistics, less than 82% of all tax is paid voluntarily and on time; enforcement actions raise that ratio to about 83.7%, for a tax gap of 16.3%, or an annual average of $406 billion in unpaid taxes.
-
The sophomore right-hander opened the year with a 3-0 record and a 0.38 ERA in his first five starts, with a 36-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
-
One was the ratio of the number of verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs to the total number of words spoken.
-
Only about 1 percent of Pakistan’s 200 million people pay taxes and the country has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in South Asia.
-
What a bull eats, how it's raised, how a cut of meat is sliced to provide the right ratio of fat—
-
There is little doubt that the biggest highlight of the LG G6 is its gorgeous QHD+ display with innovative 18:9 ratio.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ratio'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of ratio
Latin, computation, reason — more at reason
First Known Use: 1660
Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms
RATIO Defined for English Language Learners
ratio
playDefinition of ratio for English Language Learners
-
: the relationship that exists between the size, number, or amount of two things and that is often represented by two numbers
RATIO Defined for Kids
ratio
playDefinition of ratio for Students
ratios
: the relationship in number or quantity between two or more things the ratio of teachers to students
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about ratio
-
See words that rhyme with ratio Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ratio Spanish Central: Translation of ratio Nglish: Translation of ratio for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ratio for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ratio
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up ratio? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!