English dictionary
reference
nounPronunciation
ˈɹɛf.(ə)ɹəns
Audio pronunciation
Parts of speech
Definitions
noun
- the act of referring or consulting
noun
- the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to
noun
- the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to
noun
- (computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored
noun
- a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts
noun
- a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability
noun
- a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
noun
- a remark that calls attention to something or someone
noun
- an indicator that orients you generally
noun
- a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to
verb
- refer to
Example sentences
reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer
the extension of ‘satellite of Mars’ is the set containing only Demos and Phobos
he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes
he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic
requests for character references are all too often answered evasively
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
she made frequent mention of her promotion
there was no mention of it
the speaker made several references to his wife
it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved
he carried an armful of references back to his desk
he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation
he referenced his colleagues' work