reference

Meanings

• a remark that calls attention to something or someone
  • "the speaker made several references to his wife"
• a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
• an indicator that orients you generally
  • "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved"
• a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts
  • "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"
• 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"
• the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to
• the act of referring or consulting
  • "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"
• a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to
  • "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"
• (computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored
• 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"
• refer to
  • "he referenced his colleagues' work"

Synonyms

acknowledgment, address, book of facts, character, character reference, citation, cite, computer address, consultation, credit, denotation, extension, mention, point of reference, quotation, reference book, reference point, reference work, source