reference works

Cultural  

1. Books and other works that contain useful facts and information, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and bibliographies.

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Example Sentences

His walls are lined with shelves of well-thumbed books, from his childhood comic collection to reference works on art and anthropology, Victoriana and zoology.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2024

General reference works provide background information and basic facts about a topic.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Together they wrote three seminal volumes — “Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art,” “Khmer Gold” and “Khmer Bronzes” — that are core reference works for other experts.

From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2017

“Legal compendia are among the foundational reference works in every civilization.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 17, 2016

In fact, these reference works, with their careful attention to history, literature, and actual usage, are the most adamant debunkers of grammatical nonsense.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker