(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ of a group or an amount is a part of it. (FORMAL)
A large ~ of the dolphins in that area will eventually die...
A ~ of the rent is met by the city council.
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n
2.
The ~ of one kind of person or thing in a group is the number of people or things of that kind compared to the total number of people or things in the group.
The ~ of women in the profession had risen to 17.3%...
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n
3.
The ~ of one amount to another is the relationship between the two amounts in terms of how much there is of each thing.
Women’s bodies tend to have a higher ~ of fat to water.
= ratio
N-COUNT: oft N of n to n
4.
If you refer to the ~s of something, you are referring to its size, usually when this is extremely large. (WRITTEN)
In the tropics plants grow to huge ~s.
N-PLURAL: usu supp N
5.
If one thing increases or decreases in ~ to another thing, it increases or decreases to the same degree as that thing.
The pressure in the cylinders would go up in ~ to the boiler pressure.
PREP-PHRASE
6.
If something is small or large in ~ to something else, it is small or large when compared with that thing.
Children tend to have relatively larger heads than adults in ~ to the rest of their body.
PREP-PHRASE
7.
If you say that something is out of all ~ to something else, you think that it is far greater or more serious than it should be.
The punishment was out of all ~ to the crime.
PREP-PHRASE: usu v-link PREP
8.
If you get something out of ~, you think it is more important or worrying than it really is. If you keep something in ~, you have a realistic view of how important it is.
Everything just got blown out of ~...
We’ve got to keep this in ~.
PHRASE: PHR after v