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 interacts very little with the surrounding plasma, making it useful as a clean reference point.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Boss Hansi Flick made clear from day one that Barcelona had signed a type of midfielder they did not have, but also a reference point for a squad in the middle of rebuilding.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
“She is a reference point for all of us in contemporary music,” says producer Diego Raposo, a Dominican tastemaker who featured Akriila on his 2023 debut album.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 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 sun was low in the sky and surrounded as I was by trees, I had no reference point to tell me whether it was rising or setting.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
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.
