referral

Plural: referrals

Noun

• a person whose case has been referred to a specialist or professional group
  • "the patient is a referral from Dr. Bones"
• a recommendation to consult the (professional) person or group to whom one has been referred
  • "the insurance company says that you need a written referral from your physician before seeing a specialist"
• the act of referring (as forwarding an applicant for employment or referring a matter to an appropriate agency)
• The act or process of transferring someone or something to another, of sending by reference, or referring.
• A document used by schools detailing some form of a student's misbehavior and listing the actions taken before and after the student's receipt of the referral.

Examples

• "After misbehaving in class, George was given a referral for disrupting class and sent to the office."
• "The insurance company insists I get a referral from my regular doctor. I can't just go to the specialist; a GP has got to refer me."

Related Words

referent, referrer