Library / English Dictionary

REFERENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of referring or consulting

Example:

reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer

Synonyms:

consultation; reference

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

action (something done (usually as opposed to something said))

Derivation:

refer (send or direct for treatment, information, or a decision)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to

Example:

the extension of 'satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos

Synonyms:

denotation; extension; reference

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

meaning; substance (the idea that is intended)

Derivation:

refer (have as a meaning)

refer (be relevant to)

referent (having reference)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to

Example:

he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

meaning; substance (the idea that is intended)

Derivation:

refer (think of, regard, or classify under a subsuming principle or with a general group or in relation to another)

refer (have as a meaning)

referential (referring or pointing to something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored

Synonyms:

address; computer address; reference

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

code; computer code ((computer science) the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program or the set of such instructions)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reference"):

argument; parameter ((computer science) a reference or value that is passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command, or program)

uniform resource locator; universal resource locator; URL (the address of a web page on the world wide web)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A book to which you can refer for authoritative facts

Example:

he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic

Synonyms:

book of facts; reference; reference book; reference work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

book (a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reference"):

cookbook; cookery book (a book of recipes and cooking directions)

instruction book (a book of directions for using or operating some piece of equipment)

source book (a collection of historically important documents published together as a book)

wordbook (a reference book containing words (usually with their meanings))

enchiridion; handbook; vade mecum (a concise reference book providing specific information about a subject or location)

directory (an alphabetical list of names and addresses)

annual; yearbook; yearly (a reference book that is published regularly once every year)

atlas; book of maps; map collection (a collection of maps in book form)

cyclopaedia; cyclopedia; encyclopaedia; encyclopedia (a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty)

Derivation:

refer (seek information from)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability

Example:

requests for character references are all too often answered evasively

Synonyms:

character; character reference; reference

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

good word; recommendation; testimonial (something that recommends (or expresses commendation of) a person or thing as worthy or desirable)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage

Example:

the article includes mention of similar clinical cases

Synonyms:

acknowledgment; citation; cite; credit; mention; quotation; reference

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

annotation; notation; note (a comment or instruction (usually added))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reference"):

cross-index; cross-reference (a reference at one place in a work to information at another place in the same work)

photo credit (a note acknowledging the source of a published photograph)

Derivation:

reference (refer to)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A remark that calls attention to something or someone

Example:

the speaker made several references to his wife

Synonyms:

mention; reference

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

comment; input; remark (a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reference"):

allusion (passing reference or indirect mention)

retrospection (reference to things past)

name-dropping (the practice of casually mentioning important people in order to impress your listener)

Derivation:

refer (make reference to)

Sense 9

Meaning:

An indicator that orients you generally

Example:

it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved

Synonyms:

point of reference; reference; reference point

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

indicator (a signal for attracting attention)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reference"):

bench mark; benchmark (a surveyor's mark on a permanent object of predetermined position and elevation used as a reference point)

landmark (a mark showing the boundary of a piece of land)

lubber's line; lubber's mark; lubber's point; lubber line (a fixed line on a ship's compass indicating its heading)

mark; target (a reference point to shoot at)

white line (a white stripe in the middle of a road to mark traffic lanes)

buoy (bright-colored; a float attached by rope to the seabed to mark channels in a harbor or underwater hazards)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to

Example:

he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation

Synonyms:

reference; source

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reference" is a kind of...):

publication (a copy of a printed work offered for distribution)

Derivation:

refer (seek information from)

reference (refer to)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Refer to

Example:

he referenced his colleagues' work

Synonyms:

cite; reference

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "reference" is one way to...):

compose; indite; pen; write (produce a literary work)

Domain category:

authorship; composition; penning; writing (the act of creating written works)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Did he reference his major works over a short period of time?

Derivation:

reference (a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage)

reference (a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to)

Credits

 Context examples: 

No reference was made on either side to the destruction of the shears; nor did he say anything further about my leaving his ship alone.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A unit of antibody concentration measured by comparison against a known concentration of antibodies in a standard reference specimen.

(Antibody Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

No reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A name given to a reference source that lists words and gives their meaning.

(CDISC SDTM Dictionary Name Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The relative relationship of a timepoint to a reference timepoint.

(CDISC SDTM Relation to Reference Period Terminology, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A characterization of the relationship of an adverse event conclusion point in time to a reference point in time.

(Adverse Event End Relative to Reference Period, NCI Thesaurus)

A character or string used to name, or characterize an adverse event reference.

(Adverse Event Reference Identifier, NCI Thesaurus)

The point in time that acts as a fixed reference point to a microbiology susceptibility assessment.

(Microbiology Susceptibility Timepoint Reference, NCI Thesaurus)

The point in time that acts as a fixed reference point to a microbiology specimen collection.

(Microbiology Specimen Timepoint Reference, NCI Thesaurus)

It was a reference to the future, which Anne, after a little observation, felt she must submit to.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)