Search Result for "reference": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (10)

1. a remark that calls attention to something or someone;
- Example: "she made frequent mention of her promotion"
- Example: "there was no mention of it"
- Example: "the speaker made several references to his wife"
[syn: mention, reference]

2. a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage;
- Example: "the student's essay failed to list several important citations"
- Example: "the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book"
- Example: "the article includes mention of similar clinical cases"
[syn: citation, cite, acknowledgment, credit, reference, mention, quotation]

3. an indicator that orients you generally;
- Example: "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved"
[syn: reference point, point of reference, reference]

4. a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts;
- Example: "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"
[syn: reference book, reference, reference work, book of facts]

5. 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"
[syn: character, reference, character reference]

6. 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"
[syn: reference, denotation, extension]

7. the act of referring or consulting;
- Example: "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"
[syn: reference, consultation]

8. a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to;
- Example: "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"
- Example: "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation"
[syn: reference, source]

9. (computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored;
[syn: address, computer address, reference]

10. 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"


VERB (1)

1. refer to;
- Example: "he referenced his colleagues' work"
[syn: reference, cite]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

reference n 1: 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] 2: 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] 3: 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] 4: 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] 5: 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] 6: 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] 7: the act of referring or consulting; "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer" [syn: reference, consultation] 8: 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] 9: (computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored [syn: address, computer address, reference] 10: 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" v 1: refer to; "he referenced his colleagues' work" [syn: reference, cite]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

162 Moby Thesaurus words for "reference": acknowledgment, advocacy, advocating, advocation, affective meaning, allusion, angle, appeal to, applicability, application, appositeness, aspect, bearing, by-line, case, certificate of character, certification, character, character reference, citation, coloring, concern, concernment, confession, configuration, connection, connotation, consequence, credential, credentials, credit line, cross reference, cross-refer, cross-reference, demonstration, denotation, diacritical mark, direct attention to, direction, drift, effect, eidolon, end stop, endorsement, essence, example, exemplification, extension, facet, fashion, feature, figure, force, form, germaneness, gestalt, gist, grammatical meaning, guise, hint, idea, illustration, image, imago, impact, implication, import, impression, indication, innuendo, insinuation, instance, intension, interest, intimation, invoke, item, letter of introduction, lexical meaning, light, likeness, lineaments, literal meaning, look, make a cross-reference, make reference to, manner, materiality, meaning, mention, naming, notation, note, notification, overtone, particular, patronage, pertinence, phase, phasis, pith, point, practical consequence, punctuation, punctuation marks, purport, quotation, range of meaning, real meaning, recommend, recommendation, refer to, reference mark, referent, referral, regard, relatedness, relation, relevance, remark, respect, scope, seeming, semantic cluster, semantic field, semblance, sense, shape, side, signature, significance, signification, significatum, signifie, simulacrum, slant, span of meaning, specification, spirit, stop, structural meaning, style, substance, sum, sum and substance, symbolic meaning, tenor, testimonial, tittle, total effect, totality of associations, trademark, transferred meaning, tribute, twist, unadorned meaning, undertone, value, view, viewpoint, voucher, wise
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

pointer reference 1. An address, from the point of view of a programming language. A pointer may be typed, with its type indicating the type of data to which it points. The terms "pointer" and "reference" are generally interchangeable although particular programming languages often differentiate these two in subtle ways. For example, Perl always calls them references, never pointers. Conversely, in C, "pointer" is used, although "a reference" is often used to denote the concept that a pointer implements. Anthony Hoare once said: Pointers are like jumps, leading wildly from one part of the data structure to another. Their introduction into high-level languages has been a step backward from which we may never recover. [C.A.R.Hoare "Hints on Programming Language Design", 1973, Prentice-Hall collection of essays and papers by Tony Hoare]. 2. (Or "mouse pointer") An icon, usually a small arrow, that moves on the screen in response to movement of a pointing device, typically a mouse. The pointer shows the user which object on the screen will be selected etc. when a mouse button is clicked. (1999-07-07)
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

REFERENCE, practice. The act of sending any matter by a court of chancery or one exercising equitable powers, to a master or other officer, in order that he may ascertain facts and report to the court. By reference is also understood that part of an instrument of writing where it points to another for the matters therein contained. For the effect of such reference, see 1 Pick. R. 27; 17 Mass. R. 443; 15 Pick. R. 66; 7 Halst. R. 25; 14 Wend. R. 619; 10 Conn. R. 422; 4 Greenl. R. 14, 471; 3 Greenl. R. 393; 6 Pick. R. 460; the thing referred to is also called a reference.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

REFERENCE, contracts. An agreement to submit to certain arbitrators, matters in dispute between two or more parties, for their decision, and judgment. The persons to whom such matters are referred are sometimes called referees.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

REFERENCE, mercantile law. A direction or request by a party who asks a credit to the person from whom he expects it, to call on some other person named in order to ascertain the character or mercantile standing of the former.