'Reference' definitions:

Definition of 'reference'

From: WordNet
noun
A remark that calls attention to something or someone; "she made frequent mention of her promotion"; "there was no mention of it"; "the speaker made several references to his wife" [syn: mention, reference]
noun
A short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage; "the student's essay failed to list several important citations"; "the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book"; "the article includes mention of similar clinical cases" [syn: citation, cite, acknowledgment, credit, reference, mention, quotation]
noun
An indicator that orients you generally; "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved" [syn: reference point, point of reference, reference]
noun
A book to which you can refer for authoritative facts; "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic" [syn: reference book, reference, reference work, book of facts]
noun
A formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability; "requests for character references are all too often answered evasively" [syn: character, reference, character reference]
noun
The most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; "the extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos" [syn: reference, denotation, extension]
noun
The act of referring or consulting; "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer" [syn: reference, consultation]
noun
A publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation" [syn: reference, source]
noun
(computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored [syn: address, computer address, reference]
noun
The relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to; "he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes"
verb
Refer to; "he referenced his colleagues' work" [syn: reference, cite]

Definition of 'Reference'

From: GCIDE
  • Reference \Ref"er*ence\ (r?f"?r-ens), n. [See Refer.]
  • 1. The act of referring, or the state of being referred; as, reference to a chart for guidance. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. That which refers to something; a specific direction of the attention; as, a reference in a text-book. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Relation; regard; respect. [1913 Webster]
  • Something that hath a reference to my state. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. One who, or that which, is referred to. Specifically; (a) One of whom inquires can be made as to the integrity, capacity, and the like, of another. (b) A work, or a passage in a work, to which one is referred. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (Law) (a) The act of submitting a matter in dispute to the judgment of one or more persons for decision. (b) (Equity) The process of sending any matter, for inquiry in a cause, to a master or other officer, in order that he may ascertain facts and report to the court. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. Appeal. [R.] "Make your full reference." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Reference Bible, a Bible in which brief explanations, and references to parallel passages, are printed in the margin of the text. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'reference'

From: Moby Thesaurus