Definition of "ratio" []

• Relation in degree or number between two similar things. (noun)
• The relative value of silver and gold in a currency system that is bimetallic. (noun)
• Mathematics A relationship between two quantities, normally expressed as the quotient of one divided by the other: The ratio of 7 to 4 is written 7:4 or 7/4. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "These laws are often stated thus: the ratio of the octave to the fundamental is as two is to one; that of the major third as five is to four; that of the perfect fifth as three is to two, and so on through the entire series of pitches embraced within the octave, the _ratio_ being of course the same for all octaves."
• "When a ratio is duplicate of another ratio» the point/defcribes the difference of the terms in a double time*"
• "Avoid confusion with actual numbers by using the word ratio or a phrase such as a 2-to-1 majority, rather than a 2-to-1 vote in the Senate or the like."