golden ration. See golden section.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.golden ratio n (Mathematics) the ratio of two lengths, equal in value to (1 + ?5)/2, and given by b/a = (b + a)/b; it is the reciprocal of the golden section and also equal to (1 + golden section). Symbol: ? Compare golden section Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014