reference

American  

[ref-er-uhns, ref-ruhns] / ˈrɛf ər əns, ˈrɛf rəns /

noun

• references
  plural

1. an act or instance of referring.

2. a mention; allusion.

3. something for which a name or designation stands; denotation.

4. a direction in a book or writing to some other book, passage, etc.

   Synonyms:

   citation, note

5. a book, passage, etc., to which one is directed.

6. reference mark.

7. material contained in a footnote or bibliography, or referred to by a reference mark.

8. use or recourse for purposes of information.

   a library for public reference.

9. a book or other source of useful facts or information, such as an encyclopedia, dictionary, etc.

10. a person to whom one refers for testimony as to one's character, abilities, etc.

11. a statement, usually written, as to a person's character, abilities, etc.

    Synonyms:

    endorsement

12. relation, regard, or respect.

    all persons, without reference to age.

    Synonyms:

    concern, consideration

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verb (used with object)

• references,
  present (3rd person singular)
• referenced,
  past participle,  past
• referencing
  present participle

1. to furnish (a book, dissertation, etc.) with references.

   Each new volume is thoroughly referenced.

2. to arrange (notes, data, etc.) for easy reference.

   Statistical data is referenced in the glossary.

3. to refer to.

   to reference a file.

reference British  

/ ˈrɛfərəns, ˌrɛfəˈrɛnʃəl, ˈrɛfrəns /

noun

1. the act or an instance of referring

2. something referred, esp proceedings submitted to a referee in law

3. a direction of the attention to a passage elsewhere or to another book, document, etc

4. a book or passage referred to

5. a mention or allusion

   this book contains several references to the Civil War

6. philosophy

   1. the relation between a word, phrase, or symbol and the object or idea to which it refers

   2. the object referred to by an expression Compare sense

7. 1. a source of information or facts

   2. ( as modifier )

      a reference book

      a reference library

8. a written testimonial regarding one's character or capabilities

9. a person referred to for such a testimonial

10. 1. (foll by to) relation or delimitation, esp to or by membership of a specific class or group; respect or regard

       all people, without reference to sex or age

    2. ( as modifier )

       a reference group

11. a fact forming the basis of an evaluation or assessment; criterion

12. the specific limits of responsibility that determine the activities of an investigating body, etc

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verb

1. to furnish or compile a list of references for (an academic thesis, publication, etc)

2. to make a reference to; refer to

   he referenced Chomsky, 1956

preposition

1.  re.  commerce with reference to

   reference your letter of the 9th inst

reference Idioms  

1. see in regard (reference) to.

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Usage

What does reference mean? Reference means an act of referring, that is, an act of directing someone to something, Jaya noted the name of the author for future reference. Reference also means a direct mention or to the actual books or materials that someone is being referred to, as in The greedy pig named Bob Bacon was a reference to the actual business tycoon of the same name. Reference can also mean material that can be referred to for information, as in The encyclopedia is a good reference to use when doing your homework. In a piece of writing, a reference is a direction or citation leading a reader to another book or passage for more information, as in The author listed several references at the bottom of the page. Any of these senses can also be used as verbs, as in All of the graphical data was referenced at the end of the study. Reference is also commonly used to mean people that give testimony about a person’s character, such as for a job application, as in The teacher agreed to be listed as a reference on Namita’s college application. Example: Teachers often tell their students how many references their research papers need to have.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misreference
  noun
• nonreference
  noun
• prereference
  noun
• referencer
  noun
• subreference
  noun
• referential
  adjective
• unreferenced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• references
  plural

Participles

• referencing
  present
• referenced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reference
  simple
• references
  simple
• have referenced
  perfect
• has referenced
  perfect
• am referencing
  progressive
• are referencing
  progressive
• is referencing
  progressive
• have been referencing
  perfect progressive
• has been referencing
  perfect progressive

Past

• referenced
  simple
• had referenced
  perfect
• was referencing
  progressive
• were referencing
  progressive
• had been referencing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reference
  simple
• will have referenced
  perfect
• will be referencing
  progressive
• will have been referencing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of reference

First recorded in 1580–90; refer + -ence

Explanation

If you are writing a report for school, you are probably relying on a few references, or sources, for information. Or, if you are applying for a job, you may count on a reference from a previous boss to help you get the job. Good references are sometimes necessary to either get a job or to get a job done well. A reference is someone you can rely on to put in a good word for you when applying for a job. Or, a reference might be an outside source you use in a research paper. Don't forget: if you reference outside work, be sure to mention it in your bibliography or "list of references" so you don't get accused of plagiarism. Give credit where it's due.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reference references referenced referencing

Pierre likens Jordan to a massive puzzle that Stewart is trying to piece together without any instructions or even a reference.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Later, he joked that the "AC was cooking" inside the venue, an apparent reference to the heatwave that swept over the country over the Independence Day weekend.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

As Scott Chronert and colleagues at Citi Research say in reference to the labor market: “Bad news is good news, for now!”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

In France, average temperatures were 3.8C above the 1991-2020 normal -- a reference period already significantly warmer than the pre-industrial climate of 1850-1900.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

I used a generic photograph of q mallard for reference, but Uncle Phil doesn’t need to know that.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Overall, compared with historic versions of such job descriptions, there are 30% more references to AI on user profiles today.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

"While historians have occasionally noted these remarks, they have generally treated them as unexplained references," said Prof Licence.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

The bar is decorated with references to China's AI boom, with logos of the country's major labs on the walls and the menu full of jokes riffing on tech jargon.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

He references Xbox's server outage in late July, in which users couldn't play games even if they owned the discs and how "nobody liked that".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Psalms sung by the priests of King David, who united the kingdoms of Israel and Judaea in 1003 bc, are riven through with references to instruments and to singing.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

In defense, Carvalho’s lawyers referenced an earlier district review: “You have ignored the results of your prior inquiries into the AllHere matter, which cleared Mr. Carvalho of any misconduct.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

The detective referenced bank statements showing money from the victim entering Bush's business account and pointed out that at no point did he make any payments to the plan the victim thought she had purchased.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Flavio Bolsonaro teared up as he referenced his father, who appeared in an AI-generated video.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

During Mamdani’s transition period last year, Khan had interviewed candidates for the role of EDC president and referenced the idea of reining in corporate power, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

He jotted a note to himself and referenced her as ‘the woman at Mr. Rejewski’s table.’

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Burnham -- who took power last month -- has faced some criticism for not directly referencing climate change sooner, as Britain has grappled for weeks with widespread drought, extreme heat and wildfires.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

McGurn also said the company’s social media platform is entering into an expanded content phase, referencing a new service that will allow traders will pay for instant access to the president’s Truth Social posts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

It was not clear how referencing the infamous L.A. gang was, on its own, racist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

“It should be an amount paid out at some point, and that would show up in a 990,” he said, referencing the name of the tax return filed by nonprofits, which is public.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

My first sighting is in a news story referencing the Dark Days.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• allusion
• hint
• innuendo
• mention
• note
• quotation