reference meaning and definition

REFERENCE noun

Definition of reference (noun)

1. 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"
   • synonyms: mention
2. 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"
   • synonyms: acknowledgment, citation, cite, credit, mention, quotation
3. an indicator that orients you generally
   • "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved"
   • synonyms: point of reference, reference point
4. a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts
   • "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"
   • synonyms: book of facts, reference book, reference work
5. 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"
   • synonyms: character, character reference
6. 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"
   • synonyms: denotation, extension
7. the act of referring or consulting
   • "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"
   • synonyms: consultation
8. 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"
   • synonyms: source
9. (computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored
   • synonyms: address, computer address
10. 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"

REFERENCE verb

Definition of reference (verb)

1. refer to
   • "he referenced his colleagues' work"
   • synonyms: cite