Definitions for reference
ˈrɛf ər əns, ˈrɛf rənsref·er·ence

Princeton's WordNet(3.54 / 29 votes)Rate this definition:

1. mention, referencenoun

   a remark that calls attention to something or someone

   "she made frequent mention of her promotion"; "there was no mention of it"; "the speaker made several references to his wife"

2. citation, cite, acknowledgment, credit, reference, mention, quotationnoun

   a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage

   "the student's essay failed to list several important citations"; "the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book"; "the article includes mention of similar clinical cases"

3. reference point, point of reference, referencenoun

   an indicator that orients you generally

   "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved"

4. reference book, reference, reference work, book of factsnoun

   a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts

   "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"

5. character, reference, character referencenoun

   a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability

   "requests for character references are all too often answered evasively"

6. reference, denotation, extensionnoun

   the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to

   "the extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos"

7. reference, consultationnoun

   the act of referring or consulting

   "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"

8. reference, sourcenoun

   a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to

   "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation"

9. address, computer address, referencenoun

   (computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored

10. referenceverb

    the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to

    "he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes"

11. reference, citeverb

    refer to

    "he referenced his colleagues' work"

Wiktionary(4.20 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. referencenoun

   A relationship or relation (to something).

2. referencenoun

   A measurement one can compare to.

3. referencenoun

   Information about a person, provided by someone (a referee) with whom they are well acquainted

4. referencenoun

   A reference work.

5. referencenoun

   A relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object.

6. referencenoun

   A short written identification of a previously published work which is used as a source for a text.

7. referencenoun

   A previously published written work thus indicated; a source.

8. referencenoun

   An object containing information which refers to data stored elsewhere, as opposed to containing the data itself.

9. referenceverb

   to refer to, to make reference to, to cite

   Reference the dictionary for word meanings.

10. referenceverb

    to mention

Webster Dictionary(3.17 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Referencenoun

   the act of referring, or the state of being referred; as, reference to a chart for guidance

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

2. Referencenoun

   that which refers to something; a specific direction of the attention; as, a reference in a text-book

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

3. Referencenoun

   relation; regard; respect

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

4. Referencenoun

   one who, or that which, is referred to

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

5. Referencenoun

   one of whom inquires can be made as to the integrity, capacity, and the like, of another

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

6. Referencenoun

   a work, or a passage in a work, to which one is referred

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

7. Referencenoun

   the act of submitting a matter in dispute to the judgment of one or more persons for decision

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

8. Referencenoun

   the process of sending any matter, for inquiry in a cause, to a master or other officer, in order that he may ascertain facts and report to the court

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

9. Referencenoun

   appeal

   Etymology: [See Refer.]

Freebase(4.54 / 22 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Reference

   Reference is a relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to refer to the second object. The second object – the one to which the first object refers – is called the referent of the first object. The term reference is used in many spheres of human knowledge, adopting shades of meaning particular to the contexts in which it is used. References can take on many forms, including: a thought, a sensory perception that is audible, visual, olfactory, or tactile, emotional state, relationship with other, spacetime coordinate, symbolic or alpha-numeric, a physical object or an energy projection; but, other concrete and abstract contexts exist as methods of defining references within the scope of the various fields that require an origin, point of departure, or an original form. This includes methods that intentionally hide the reference from some observers, as in cryptography. The following sections give specific usages of reference in different subjects.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. reference

   A source for a specific form of data, facts, information, research or statistics.

   The reference for the media article is accurate, fair and just.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 20, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Action
   • Authorship
   • Code
   • Computer Science
   • Indicator
   • Meaning
   • Publication
   • Recommendation
   • Remark
   • Write

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'reference' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1341

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'reference' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1692

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'reference' in Nouns Frequency: #457

How to pronounce reference?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say reference in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of reference in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of reference in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of reference in a Sentence

1. Emeasoba George:

   Countless books have been written and published already by numerous authors, more books are being written and published presently somewhere and many more books will be written and published subsequently. As a matter of fact, Bill Gates has written and published insightful books, as well John C. Maxwell has written and published many worth reading books, Og Mandino wrote and published inspirational books, Les Brown has written and published motivational books, Zig Ziglar wrote and published many profound books, Maya Angelou wrote and published life-changing books, Chidi Okoroafor has equally written and published several books of wisdom, also Enoch Adeboye has written and published wonderful books, Uma Ukpai has written and published inspiring books, undoubtedly David Oyedepo has written and published great books, W.F Kumuyi has written and published mind-blowing books, Chris Oyakhilome has written and published thoughtful books, similarly Myles Munroe wrote and published amazing books, Chinua Achebe wrote and published sagacious books, Wole Soyinka has written and published interesting books just like David Abioye who has also written and published thought-provoking books among other enormous books and their authors who are numerous for me to mention their names right here and right now. But above all, the scripture (Bible) is the greatest book of wisdom and knowledge ever written and published. And mark my words, it will ever remain the greatest book of all time. Yes! because unlike every other book, the scripture (Bible) is God-breathed (it is given or written by divine inspiration) Scripture Reference 2nd Timothy 3:16. Besides that, it is historic, historical, mystical (it has spiritual significance) and authoritative in nature, it equally contains incomparable guidelines for moral behaviour and belief (it is an embodiment of past or ancient wars and (the aftermaths), histories, cultures, norms, traditions, values, lifestyles and genealogical records). Moreover, it is a collection of books that encompasses past or ancient stories, chronicles, teachings, laws, parables, proverbs, psalms, teachers, preachers, heroes, heroines, saints, kings, queens, prophecies, prophets, prophetesses, miracles, warnings, signs, wonders, mysteries, revelations (the past, present and future events collectively) and much more than that, including extraordinary insights or words of wisdom (encouragement) from Jesus Christ himself (the greatest teacher and inspirator of all time), king Solomon, king David, saint Paul among other ancient wise men and women. In other words, the scripture (Bible) is nothing else but a typical and perfect example of a book saturated with uncommon and unprecedented inspirations, motivations, wisdom, knowledge, encouragement and hope for the hopeless. Now, that's why the scripture (Bible) is ever worth reading over and over again, regardless of one's religion. Most interestingly, the scripture (Bible) has been written and published already in nearly all the languages of the world. That is to say, billions of copies have been published and sold globally already, more copies are being published and sold presently and many more copies will be published and sold sooner or later. In fact, unimpeachably (beyond doubt and criticism) the scripture (Bible) has been read by the world as a whole and you can bet your bottom dollar, it (the Bible) will surely be read by the posterity ahead (all future generations ahead). Anyway, at this juncture I guess you should concur with me that the scripture (Bible) is and will ever remain the greatest book of all time. However, if you still don't concur with me, then it is obvious or rather I put it to you that you have not yet taken your time to read the scriptures (Bible) thoroughly. Nevertheless, you have to take your time in order to thoroughly read and discover the uniqueness and extraordinariness of the scriptures (Bible). For, once you have done just that, you will surely and eventually concur with me that the scripture (Bible) is and will ever remain the greatest book of all time, QED. ~Emeasoba George

2. Jane Harley:

   Given that our editorial guidelines that reference pigs and pork have been in place for as long as I can remember, little did I imagine that they would attract international headlines claiming that Oxford University Press had banned sausages, to clarify, OUP does not have a blanket ban on pork products in its titles, and we do still publish books about pigs.

3. James Comey:

   His only reference point is internal --' what will bring me what I need, what will fill this hole in me -- get me the affirmation I crave' -- that is deeply concerning.

4. Emeasoba George:

   True greatness or prominence is only achieved by doing and living in the will of God. Oh! yes, the scripture says promotion or upliftment doesn't come from east, west, north or south. Rather, promotion or prominence solely comes from God, scripture reference (Psalms 75 : 6). That evidently infers, it's God or his will that determines the fate of every human. Therefore, if he (God) has destined you for greatness or prominence. Mark my words, you must be great or prominent in life. Yes! It is a matter of time. And then, your greatness or prominence will turn out to become a reality. But provided you will resolve to walk and indulge in his (God's) will and not at all in your own will.

5. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne:

   Volkswagen, GM are companies that understand this reality well, they continue to be points of reference ... and to some extent Renault-Nissan ... they have experience of multi-brands.

Images & Illustrations of reference

Popularity rank by frequency of use