citation

American  

[sahy-tay-shuhn] / saɪˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• citations
  plural

1. 

   Military. mention of a soldier or a unit in orders, usually for gallantry.

   She received a presidential citation.

2. any award or commendation, as for outstanding service, hard work, or devotion to duty, especially a formal letter or statement recounting a person's achievements.

   Synonyms:

   kudos, reward, laurel, honor, award

3. a summons, especially to appear in court.

4. a document containing such a summons.

5. the act of citing or quoting a reference to an authority or a precedent.

6. a passage cited; quotation.

   Synonyms:

   quote, extract, passage, excerpt

7. Also a quotation showing a particular word or phrase in context.

8. Also mention or enumeration.

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citation British  

/ saɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the quoting of a book or author in support of a fact

2. a passage or source cited for this purpose

3. a listing or recounting, as of facts

4. an official commendation or award, esp for bravery or outstanding service, work, etc, usually in the form of a formal statement made in public

5. law

   1. an official summons to appear in court

   2. the document containing such a summons

6. law the quoting of decided cases to serve as guidance to a court

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncitation
  noun
• precitation
  noun
• citational
  adjective
• citatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• citations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of citation

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English citacio(u)n, from Late Latin citātiōn- (stem of citātiō ), equivalent to Latin citāt(us), past participle of citāre “to set in motion, call before a court” + -iōn- noun suffix; see origin at cite ¹ , -ion

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Explanation

If you hear you’re getting a citation, wait before bragging about it. A citation can be an official award, but it can also mean something less thrilling, like a summons to appear in court. If you climb a tree and rescue a frightened cat, the mayor might present you with a citation for bravery. If you're hurrying to the ceremony and your mom speeds and gets a traffic citation, her insurance company might raise her premiums. Citation comes from the Latin citationem, which means “to call forward.” You can think of the mayor calling you forward to receive your plaque, or the judge calling your mom forward to receive her fine. A citation can also be a quote, like a passage in a newspaper article describing your cat-saving feat as "an act of heroism."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

citation citations

"Ten thousand sorties, 23,000 combat flight hours, almost 4,000 combat sorties," he said, later announcing the award of a presidential unit citation to the strike group for "extraordinary heroism against enemy forces."

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Why marketers shouldn’t panic over Reddit’s ChatGPT citation collapse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Maybe they can get tenure by embracing and touting these ideas and getting a citation from a Supreme Court justice, maybe even a majority opinion.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

Two former winners - Suede and Dave - receive nominations, while Florence + The Machine picks up a fourth citation for her thunderous new album, Everybody Scream.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

“Clearly, that sign is a hazard,” he said, and promised Wilfrido would be issued a citation.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya

Damien Charlotin of UC Law San Francisco has counted 148 family-law rulings where judges flagged fake citations or other apparent AI mistakes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

A separate team at Cornell University found that researchers were using AI to compile citations, and that it was inventing bogus research, with around 147,000 pieces of phantom research cited last year.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

In 2021, officers made 25 arrests and issued 309 citations, according to city data.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

In 2019, Yang co-authored two research papers with Google Brain founding member Quoc V. Le about machine learning that has over 20,000 citations today.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The officer read the citations and explained that even though they were all misdemeanors, I had been processed and would still have to appear in court.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

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Related Words

• commendation
• summons

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