ratio
Americannoun
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ratios
plural
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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:
As long as the put-call ratio is rising, that is negative for the energy company’s shares.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
His price target of $1,600 is based on a price-to-earnings multiple of 9x 2027 estimates, notably above the current ratio of 5.77x.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
As a result, the price-to-earnings ratio for the next 12 months has fallen to around 19.1, down from 21.3 on June 2.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
With publicly held U.S. debt having crossed 100% of gross domestic product, forecasters say that achieving 3% to 4% growth over a decade could help stabilize the debt ratio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Kleptocracies with little public support run the risk of being overthrown, either by downtrodden commoners or by upstart would-be replacement kleptocrats seeking public support by promising a higher ratio of services rendered to fruits stolen.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
On two observation dates, researchers measured methanol-to-HCN ratios of roughly 70 and 120.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
The P/E ratios are based on rolling consensus 12-month earnings-per-share estimates among analysts polled by LSEG.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
To be sure, the expense ratios for equal-weighted funds are higher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Capex-to-operating cash flow ratios are up significantly and several firms will likely turn FCF negative in 2026-2027 as AI infrastructure and chip-procurement accelerate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
I wasn’t sure where we’d gone since the lessons in parabolic ratios the week before.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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
“I just figured because a lot of them were heavily ratioed, and had over 1,000 replies, that too many replies means it shuts down,” Graziano told Salon.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2019
Cillizza’s tweet was ratioed, meaning the number of replies significantly outweighs the retweets and likes.
From Fox News ● May 6, 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.
