relative to


Correspondent or proportionate to, as in Relative to its size, Boston has a great many universities, or It's important to get all the facts relative to the collision. Another form of this idiom is in or with relation to, meaning “in reference or with regard to,” as in Demand is high in relation to supply, or That argument changes nothing with relation to our plans for hiring workers. The usages with relative date from the second half of the 1700s, those with relation from the late 1500s.

Words Nearby relative to

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use relative to in a sentence

  • And Cally felt apologetic to her poor relative to-day, a good deal ashamed before her.

    V. V.'s Eyes | Henry Sydnor Harrison