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reference
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As a noun, reference means a measurement one can compare (some other measurement) to. As a verb, it means provide a list of references for (a text).
Meanings of reference
25 meaningsnoun
A measurement one can compare (some other measurement) to.
Information about a person, provided by someone (a referee) with whom they are well acquainted.
UKIrelandA person who provides this information; a referee.
often attributiveA reference work.
“reference grammar ― detailed linguistic description of a particular language's grammar”
“Reference Dictionary of Linguistics”
The act of referring: a submitting for information or decision.
semanticsA relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object.
academic writingA short written identification of a previously published work which is used as a source for a text.
academic writingA previously published written work thus indicated; a source.
computingAn object containing information which refers to data stored elsewhere, as opposed to containing the data itself.
programmingcharacter entityA special sequence used to represent complex characters in markup languages, such as for the ™ symbol.
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”
Similar: mentionA 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”
Similar: citation, cite, acknowledgment, credit, mention, quotationAn indicator that orients you generally
“it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved”
Similar: reference point, point of referenceA book to which you can refer for authoritative facts
“he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic”
Similar: reference book, reference work, book of facts
Older and rare meanings (2)
literaryarchaicA relationship or relation (to something).
obsoleteAppeal.
verb
To provide a list of references for (a text).
“You must thoroughly reference your paper before submitting it.”
To refer to, to use as a reference.
“Reference the dictionary for word meanings.”
To mention, to cite.
“In his speech, the candidate obliquely referenced the past failures of his opponent.”
programmingTo contain the value that is a memory address of some value stored in memory.
“The given pointer will reference the actual generated data.”
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).