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

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 29 votes

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"

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.2 / 5 votes

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

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Referencenoun

   Etymology: from refer.

   1. Relation; respect; view towards; allusion to.

   The knowledge of that which man is in reference unto himself and other things in relation unto man, I may term the mother of all those principles, which are decrees in that law of nature, whereby human actions are framed. Richard Hooker.

   Jupiter was the son of Æther and Dies; so called, because the one had reference to his celestial conditions, the other discovered his natural virtues. Walter Raleigh, History of the World.

   Christian religion commands sobriety, temperance and moderation, in reference to our appetites and passions. John Tillotson.

   2. Dismission to another tribunal.

   It passed in England without the least reference hither. Jonathan Swift.

ChatGPTRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. reference

   A reference is a citation or mentioning of a source of information, such as a book, article, or website, that is used to support or provide evidence for a claim or statement. It is a way of acknowledging and giving credit to the original source of information or data. References are commonly included in academic papers, research reports, and other forms of formal writing to provide credibility and allow readers to verify the claims made by the author.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.2 / 6 votes

1. Referencenoun

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

2. Referencenoun

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

3. Referencenoun

   relation; regard; respect

4. Referencenoun

   one who, or that which, is referred to

5. Referencenoun

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

6. Referencenoun

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

7. Referencenoun

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

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

9. Referencenoun

   appeal

10. Etymology: [See Refer.]

WikidataRate this definition:4.5 / 22 votes

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 ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Auguste Rodin:

   If the artist only reproduces superficial features as photography does, if he copies the lineaments of a face exactly, without reference to character, he deserves no admiration. The resemblance which he ought to obtain is that of the soul.

2. Sanjay Shah:

   We had this line where he says, 'Why did I leave? We are the white people of here,' i can't tell you how many of my minority friends who watch the show reference that line because they felt that way when they have visited their families' home countries.

3. Laura Bush:

   You till be glad to know the President is practicing safe snacks. in reference to her husband's fainting spell caused by a pretzel

4. Jorge Meza:

   I figured what better way to have an eye-catching sign than to reference the greatest series -- definitely got many people wanting to take pictures with it.

5. Lee Merritt:

   The reference to... alleged conduct from high school or shoplifting is absurd and has nothing to do with Ahmaud Arbery murder.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=reference
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reference
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=reference
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reference
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=reference