relative to

Idioms and Phrases

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.