reference book
Americannoun
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a book containing useful facts or specially organized information, as an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, yearbook, etc.
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Also called pass, passbook. South African. a domestic identity document formerly required to be carried by Black citizens.
noun
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a book, such as an encyclopedia, dictionary, etc, from which information may be obtained
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another name for passbook
Etymology
Origin of reference book
First recorded in 1885–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He began editing the 124-year-old reference book in 1995.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
Instead of becoming “a full-throated rebuke” to the internet-driven decline of the reference book, the project sputtered to a halt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
"Conversation over the supper table was always lively, our mother Mary very much held her own meanwhile David was ready with a reference book to look up something that was being disputed."
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025
Excited delirium is not listed in the standard reference book of mental health conditions, nor does it have its own diagnostic code under a system used by health professionals to identify diseases and disorders.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 16, 2023
It's a reference book given to me by my sister Amy, and it's full of useful information.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
