Front-to-Back Ratio

It is often useful to compare the front-to-back ratio of directional antennas. This is the ratio of the maximum directivity of an antenna to its directivity in the opposite direction. For example, when the radiation pattern is plotted on a relative dB scale, the front-to-back ratio is the difference in dB between the level of the maximum radiation in the forward direction and the level of radiation at 180 degrees.

This number is meaningless for an omnidirectional antenna, but it gives you an idea of the amount of power directed forward on a very directional antenna.