refer

American  

[ri-fur] / rɪˈfɜr /

verb (used with object)

• refers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• referred,
  past participle,  past
• referring
  present participle

1. to direct for information or anything required.

   He referred me to books on astrology.

2. to direct the attention or thoughts of.

   The asterisk refers the reader to a footnote.

3. to hand over or submit for information, consideration, treatment, assistance, decision, etc..

   They were forced to refer the argument to arbitration.

   The doctor will decide whether to carry out blood tests in the office or to refer the patient to a hospital.

4. to recommend.

   My electrician went above and beyond, and I would definitely refer her to a friend.

5. to assign to a class, period, etc.; regard as belonging or related.

   Animals referred to the phylum Platyhelminthes are also known as flatworms due to their flattened bodies.

   Synonyms:

   impute, ascribe, attribute

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verb phrase

1. refer to

   1. to have recourse or resort to; turn to, as for aid or information.

      I can't remember the answer offhand, so I'll have to refer to my notes.

   2. to mention; speak briefly of.

      The author referred to his teachers twice in the article.

   3. to relate to; apply to; mean or denote.

      The term “contingency fee” refers to an arrangement where legal fees are due to the attorney only if the case is successful.

   4. to direct attention to, as a reference mark does.

      Each number refers to an endnote.

refer British  

/ rɪˈfɜːrəbəl, rɪˈfɜː, ˈrɛfərəbəl /

verb

1. (intr) to make mention (of)

2. (tr) to direct the attention of (someone) for information, facts, etc

   the reader is referred to Chomsky, 1965

3. (intr) to seek information (from)

   I referred to a dictionary of English usage

   he referred to his notes

4. (intr) to be relevant (to); pertain or relate (to)

   this song refers to an incident in the Civil War

5. (tr) to assign or attribute

   Cromwell referred his victories to God

6. (tr) to hand over for consideration, reconsideration, or decision

   to refer a complaint to another department

7. (tr) to hand back to the originator as unacceptable or unusable

8. (tr) to fail (a student) in an examination

9. (tr) to send back (a thesis) to a student for improvement

10. a request by a bank that the payee consult the drawer concerning a cheque payable by that bank (usually because the drawer has insufficient funds in his account), payment being suspended in the meantime

11. (tr) to direct (a patient) for treatment to another doctor, usually a specialist

12. (tr) social welfare to direct (a client) to another agency or professional for a service

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Usage

The common practice of adding back to refer is tautologous, since this meaning is already contained in the re- of refer: this refers to (not back to ) what has already been said . However, when refer is used in the sense of passing a document or question for further consideration to the person from whom it was received, it may be appropriate to say he referred the matter back

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• referral
  noun
• referrer
  noun
• misrefer
  verb
• prerefer
  verb (used with object)
• referable
  adjective
• referrable
  adjective
• referrible
  adjective
• unreferred
  adjective
• well-referred
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• referring
  present
• referred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• refer
  simple
• refers
  simple
• have referred
  perfect
• has referred
  perfect
• am referring
  progressive
• are referring
  progressive
• is referring
  progressive
• have been referring
  perfect progressive
• has been referring
  perfect progressive

Past

• referred
  simple
• had referred
  perfect
• was referring
  progressive
• were referring
  progressive
• had been referring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will refer
  simple
• will have referred
  perfect
• will be referring
  progressive
• will have been referring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of refer

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English referren, from Latin referre “to bring back,” from re- re- + ferre “to bear, bring, carry”; see also bear ¹

Explanation

If you refer to something, you consult it. To check your spelling, you refer to a dictionary. If you want to know when your spring break starts, you can refer to your class schedule. Refer is made up of two very useful Latin roots: re- "back" and ferre "carry," and when one thing refers to another, one meaning “carries back” to the other — there’s some kind of connection. "The term “Spaghetti Western” refers to a kind of Western often filmed in Italy by Italian filmmakers, in Italian." If you have a mysterious rash, your doctor might refer you — send you — to an allergist.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

refer refers referred referring

Researchers refer to these changes as maternal age effects.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

The Eliza effect may refer to an overattribution of human smarts to AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Purists might refer to it as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, but the rest of the world knows it as the career-saving surgery named for a sore-armed left-handed Dodgers pitcher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Active listings refer to the total number of homes listed for sale in a market, regardless of how many days they’ve been there.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

The cousins refer to their Tía Flor as "the politician."

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

"Farming" refers to repetitive tactics used to gain points in video games.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Low-impact exercise refers to exercises where you keep at least one foot on the ground, or support the body in some other way.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

It allows them to live what she refers to as “a perfect day,” but also to connect with their community offline and in person.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

It is called Tanbreez, a neologism that refers to tantalum, niobium, rare-earth elements and zirconium.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Just ask your- self whether what refers to “a thing that” or “things that.”

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Trump Jr.’s spokesman declined to comment and referred The Wall Street Journal to PublicSquare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Hochman’s motion referred to the officers’ remarks as “locker room talk” — a characterization that was seized on by Flores’ legal team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Zimbabwe's foreign ministry told the family in July it had referred their request for his repatriation to its embassy in Russia.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Dame Rachel said most children being referred did not identify with traditional forms of extremism and "stronger safeguarding" was needed for this group.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

For the workers he referred to as “my people,” Erwin built a huge auditorium where they attended concerts and plays, movies and flower shows.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Such is the fascination with the couple that one of the exits from the Sun newsroom in London is jokingly emblazoned “Megxit,” referring to Meghan and Harry’s departure from the U.K. in 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

"We just had a very good meeting," he added, referring to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

“There is probably plenty to go around for everyone, especially in the current environment which remains compute constrained,” Rasgon said, referring to the idea that there isn’t enough AI chip supply to meet customer needs.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

“I’m in a panic over this lettuce situation,” she admits, referring to the cyclosporiasis outbreaks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

“That’s wonderful. I think. I’m not sure what a TikTok is. Is that referring to a clock?”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• commit
• deliver
• hand over
• introduce
• pass on
• recommend
• send
• submit
• transfer
• turn over