reference point
Americannoun
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reference points
plural
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something used as a comparison to aid in evaluation or understanding.
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a particular physical location used to navigate an area or find an object.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
It also recorded enough information about when the eruption occurred to give modern scientists an unusually precise historical reference point for testing volcanic dating techniques.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
But continued dry weather this week pushed water levels at Kaub on the Rhine -- a reference point for vessels -- even further downwards and made the area unpassable for laden cargo vessels.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
The slower, slinkier and weirder side of Prince’s output is another reference point throughout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
We started working on a few songs — the sound of Meridian Brothers became a reference point.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Quintilian is a fundamental reference point for Arnauld: ‘Quintilian and all the other rhetoricians, Aristotle and all the philosophers...’
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
