Reference

/ˈɹɛf.(ə.)ɹəns/ · noun

Meaning

(literary or archaic) A relationship or relation (to something)..

Definitions by Sense

1. (literary or archaic) A relationship or relation (to something).
2. A measurement one can compare (some other measurement) to.
3. Information about a person, provided by someone (a referee) with whom they are well acquainted.
4. (especially US) A person who provides this information; a referee.
5. (often attributive) A reference work.
6. The act of referring: a submitting for information or decision.
7. (semantics) A relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object.
8. (academic writing) A short written identification of a previously published work which is used as a source for a text.

Example Sentences

A man is beloued of a man, in that he is a man, but all theſe are farre more eminent and great, when they ſhal proceed from a ſanctified ſpirit, that hath a true touch of Religion, and a reference to God.

Changes will befall, and friends may part, / But distance only cannot change the heart / And were I call’d to prove th’ assertion true, / One proof should serve—a reference to you.

reference grammar

Reference Dictionary of Linguistics

Y’are falne into a Princely hand, feare nothing, / Make your full reference freely to my Lord, / Who is ſo full of Grace, that it flowes ouer / On all that neede.

You must thoroughly reference your paper before submitting it.

Reference the dictionary for word meanings.

The penchant for synthesizing the work of others that pervades British scholarship has been described by one of my cynical American colleagues as “a giant bibliography that is always eating its own tail.” By this he means that cliques of like-minded writers tend to reference each other’s work incessantly.

Synonyms for reference

Antonyms for reference

Related Words

Word Forms

• references
• referencing
• referenced

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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