ratio
Americannoun
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the relation between two similar magnitudes with respect to the number of times the first contains the second.
the ratio of 5 to 2, written 5:2 or 5/2.
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proportional relation; rate.
the ratio between acceptances and rejections.
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Finance. the relative value of gold and silver in a bimetallic currency system.
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Sometimes the ratio (on Twitter) the proportion of replies to a tweet compared to the combined number of retweets and likes, where a high ratio usually indicates a barrage of negative replies: LOL, then I added the reply, “Don't mind me, I'm just here for the ratio.”
How is the Twitter ratio any different from other kinds of outraged cybermobs?
LOL, then I added the reply, “Don't mind me, I'm just here for the ratio.”
verb (used with object)
noun
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a measure of the relative size of two classes expressible as a proportion
the ratio of boys to girls is 2 to 1
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maths a quotient of two numbers or quantities See also proportion
Usage
What else does ratio mean? On the social media platform Twitter, a ratio, or getting ratioed, is when replies to a tweet vastly outnumber likes or retweets. This means people are objecting to the tweet and considering its content bad.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ratio
First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin ratiō “reckoning, account, calculation,” equivalent to rat-, past participle of rērī “to believe, think, imagine” + -iō, noun suffix from verb stems; see -tion
Explanation
A ratio is the relationship in quantity or degree between two things: “The ratio of men to women on the construction site was ten to one.” This means there were ten men present and one woman. Use the word ratio when you want to make a comparison between two things. A ratio basically expresses a proportion. Often used in mathematics, the word ratio has many real world uses as well. This word is useful for everything from making salad dressing (an oil-to-vinegar ratio of three to one) to selecting a school for a child (consider the student-to-teacher ratio when making your decision).
Vocabulary lists containing ratio
Pi Day Vocabulary
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Word Generation Science - Measurement
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Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Including the government’s huge stock of financial assets, the net debt to gross-domestic-product ratio is about half that, and analysts at Capital Economics see it falling to 80% by 2028.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Most investors mistakenly interpret a higher price/earnings ratio as an unambiguously bearish indicator.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
The chart from Callum Thomas, head of research at Topdowncharts, shows the ratio of trading in leveraged long versus short U.S.-equity ETFs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The ratio was changed a bit—ground ops were supplementing the air war, not the other way around; but still the ground ops were necessary.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Anyway, “it” could be three hundred, and then it’s a ratio of ten to one.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
The fourth reason Lee gave is that just over halfway through second-quarter earnings season, the S&P 500’s earnings-per-share estimates for next year have risen by $7, lowering forward price-to-earnings ratios.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Its regulations, which stretch more than 100 pages, outline requirements on everything from child-to-teacher ratios and child health screenings to family engagement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Under these conditions, the magma retains silver-to-copper ratios that resemble those found in the mantle.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Price-to-book ratios for banks in part reflect investors’ expectations of future returns on equity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
If you are more comfortable with fractions than with ratios, think of all the ratios as fractions instead.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Vance has been repeatedly ratioed on X ever since, a small but telling sign that the usual outrage machine is misfiring.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2026
They’ve become an entire syntax of communication; many a fine dunk below a ratioed tweet consists of a single GIF.
From The Verge ● Jul. 13, 2022
They also see in Ellis a persona who can laugh off getting ratioed amid a watch-your-step social media culture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2021
The news that McCabe found a new gig was broken by CNN’s in-house media reporter Oliver Darcy, and his tweet was quickly met with criticism and swiftly ratioed.
From Fox News ● Aug. 23, 2019
On Monday morning, the hosts of BuzzFeed’s talk show AM to DM took up the cause on their broadcast, drawing a response from Peretti on Twitter—which promptly got ratioed.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2019
Candy preference ratioing gets fierce during Spooky Season.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2022
Never has so much ratioing left the internet all at once.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
