re·fer (r -fûr )v. re·ferred, re·fer·ring, re·fers v.tr. 1. To direct to a source for help or information: referred her to a heart specialist; referred me to his last employer for a recommendation. 2. To assign or attribute to; regard as originated by. 3. To assign to or regard as belonging within a particular kind or class. 4. To submit (a matter in dispute) to an authority for arbitration, decision, or examination. 5. To direct the attention of: refer him to his duties. v.intr. 1. To pertain; concern: questions referring to yesterday's lecture. 2. To make mention or reference. 3. To have recourse; turn: refer to a dictionary. [Middle English referren, from Old French referer, from Latin referre : re-, re- + ferre, to carry; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.] ref er·a·ble (r f r--bl, r-fûr-) adj.re·fer ral n.re·fer rer n.Synonyms: refer, advert1, mention These verbs mean to call or direct attention to something: referred to my indiscretion; adverting to childhood experiences; often mentions his old friend. See Also Synonyms at attribute, resort. Usage Note: It is sometimes believed that the phrase refer back is redundant, since the prefix re- means "back," but the objection is misplaced. In fact, an expression can refer either to something that has already been mentioned or to something that is yet to be mentioned, and the distinction between refer back and refer ahead may thus be required for clarification. For example, the sentence Jones promised that if he was elected to the council, Harris would be made the council president is ambiguous, because the pronoun he may either refer back or refer ahead. See Usage Notes at allude, redundancy. |
refer
Verb
[-ferring, -ferred] refer to
1. to mention or allude to
2. to be relevant or relate (to): the word cancer refers to many quite specific different diseases
3. to seek information (from): he referred to his notes
4. to direct the attention of (someone) for information: the reader is referred to the introduction
5. to direct (a patient or client) to another doctor or agency: her GP referred her to a specialist
6. to hand over for consideration or decision: to refer a complaint to another department [Latin re- back + ferre to carry]
referable
referrable adj
referral n
referrable adj
referral n
USAGE: The common practice of adding back to refer is tautologous, since this meaning is already contained in the re- of refer: this refers to (not back to) what has already been said. However, when refer is used in the sense of passing a document or question for further consideration to the person from whom it was received, it may be appropriate to say he referred the matter back.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. | refer - make reference to; "His name was mentioned in connection with the invention" have in mind, think of, mean - intend to refer to; "I'm thinking of good food when I talk about France"; "Yes, I meant you when I complained about people who gossip!" commend, remember - mention as by way of greeting or to indicate friendship; "Remember me to your wife" speak of the devil - mention someone's name who just then appears remember - mention favorably, as in prayer; "remember me in your prayers" quote, cite - refer to for illustration or proof; "He said he could quote several instances of this behavior" touch on - refer to or discuss briefly invoke, appeal - cite as an authority; resort to; "He invoked the law that would save him"; "I appealed to the law of 1900"; "She invoked an ancient law" namedrop - refer to people that one assumes one's interlocutors admire in order to try to impress them bring up, raise - put forward for consideration or discussion; "raise the question of promotions"; "bring up an unpleasant topic" cross-refer - refer from one entry to another, as in catalogues, books, and lists |
| 2. | refer - be relevant to; "There were lots of questions referring to her talk"; "My remark pertained to your earlier comments" allude, advert, touch - make a more or less disguised reference to; "He alluded to the problem but did not mention it" center, center on, concentrate on, focus on, revolve about, revolve around - center upon; "Her entire attention centered on her children"; "Our day revolved around our work" go for, apply, hold - be pertinent or relevant or applicable; "The same laws apply to you!"; "This theory holds for all irrational numbers"; "The same rules go for everyone" | |
| 3. | refer - think of, regard, or classify under a subsuming principle or with a general group or in relation to another; "This plant can be referred to a known species" | |
| 4. | refer - send or direct for treatment, information, or a decision; "refer a patient to a specialist"; "refer a bill to a committee" submit, subject - refer for judgment or consideration; "The lawyers submitted the material to the court" send, direct - cause to go somewhere; "The explosion sent the car flying in the air"; "She sent her children to camp"; "He directed all his energies into his dissertation" recommit - send back to a committee; "The bill was recommitted three times in the House" | |
| 5. | refer - seek information from; "You should consult the dictionary"; "refer to your notes" research - attempt to find out in a systematically and scientific manner; "The student researched the history of that word" | |
| 6. | refer - have as a meaning; "`multi-' denotes `many' " signify, stand for, mean, intend - denote or connote; "`maison' means `house' in French"; "An example sentence would show what this word means" denote - be a sign or indication of; "Her smile denoted that she agreed" twist around, convolute, pervert, sophisticate, twist - practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive; "Don't twist my words" hark back, recall, come back, return - go back to something earlier; "This harks back to a previous remark of his" identify, name - give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property; "Many senators were named in connection with the scandal"; "The almanac identifies the auspicious months" apply - refer (a word or name) to a person or thing; "He applied this racial slur to me!" slur - speak disparagingly of; e.g., make a racial slur; "your comments are slurring your co-workers" | |
| 7. | refer - use a name to designate; "Christians refer to the mother of Jesus as the Virgin Mary" |
refer
refer to something or someone
1. allude to, mention, cite, speak of, bring up, invoke, hint at, touch on, make reference to, make mention of
2. relate to, concern, apply to, pertain to, be relevant to
3. consult, go, apply, turn to, look up, have recourse to, seek information from
USAGE It is usually unnecessary to add back to the verb refer, since the sense of back is already contained in the re- part of this word. For example, you might say This refers to (not refers back to) what has already been s aid. Refer back is only considered acceptable when used to mean `return a document or question to the person it came from for further consideration', as in he referred the matter back to me.
Translations
refer [rɪˈfəːʳ] vt (= send) → remitir (= ascribe); referir a, relacionar con
vi to refer to (= allude to) → referirse a, aludir a (= apply to); relacionarse con (= consult); remitirse a;
he referred me to the manager → me envió al gerente
refer [rɪˈfəːʳ] vt to refer sth to [+ dispute, decision] → soumettre qch à;
to refer sb to [+ inquirer, patient] → adresser qn à [+ reader] (to text) → renvoyer qn à vi to refer to (= allude to) → parler de, faire allusion à (= consult); se reporter à (= apply to); s'appliquer à;
he referred me to the manager → il m'a dit de m'adresser au directeur
refer [rɪˈfəːʳ] vt to refer sb to (book etc) → jdn verweisen auf +acc;
(doctor, hospital) → jdn überweisen zu;
he referred me to the manager → er verwies mich an den Geschäftsführer
refer to vt fus (mention) → erwähnen;
(consult) → hinzuziehen
refer [rɪˈfəːʳ] vt to refer sth to [+ dispute, decision] → deferire qc a;
to refer sb to [+ inquirer] (for information) → indirizzare qn a [+ reader] (to text) → rimandare qn a;
referring to your letter (COMM) → in riferimento alla Vostra lettera
v refer [rəˈfəː]
(withto)
1 to talk or write (about something); to mention He doesn't like anyone referring to his wooden leg; I referred to your theories in my last book. verwys يُشير إلى، يَذْكُر отнасям zmiňovat se, mluvit o omtale hinweisen αναφέρω, αναφέρομαι referirse a, hacer alusión a mainima, viitama اشاره کردن mainita faire allusion à לְהִתייַחֵס אֶל- सुपुर्द करना aludirati, pozvati se na nešto utal vkire, vmire menyebut vísa til, minnast á alludere ～のことを言う 언급하다 kalbėti, užsiminti apie, nurodyti norādīt; atsaukties (uz autoru u.tml.) rujuk verwijzen vise til, nevne wspomnieć, przytoczyć referir-se a a face aluzie/referire la упоминать zmieniť sa (o), hovoriť (o) omeniti uputiti na nämna, hänvisa till อ้างอิง ...-den söz etmek, ...-e ilişkin olmak 提(談)到 згадувати حوالہ دینا nhắc tới 提（谈）到
2 to relate to, concern, or apply to My remarks refer to your last letter. verwys, handel oor يُشير، يَنْطَبِق، يَتَعَلَّق بِ، يَخُص отнасям vztahovat se referere sich beziehen αναφέρομαι σε, αφορώ referir(se), hacer referencia/alusión a puudutama مربوط بودن koskea renvoyer à לְהִתייַחֵס אֶל- वर्णन करना odnositi se na vonatkozik vkire, vmire mengacu varða riferirsi ～に関係する 관계되다 sietis, būti susijusiam attiekties berpandukan verwijzen (hen)vise til, angå, vedrøre odnosić się reportar-se a a trimite, a se referi относиться vzťahovať sa (na), týkať sa nanašati se odnositi se avse, åsyfta เกี่ยวกับ olmak 指的是 стосуватися ذکر کرنا liên quan tới 指的是
3 to send or pass on to someone else for discussion, information, a decision etc The case was referred to a higher law-court; I'll refer you to the managing director. verwys يُحيل إلى، يَرْفَع отпращам postoupit, předat sende videre; henvise verweisen παραπέμπω enviar, remitir edasi saatma ارجاع دادن jättää jonkun päätettäväksi envoyer à לְהִיווַעֵץ हवाला करना uputiti na, prepustiti vkit, vmit vkihez küld meneruskan, menggarahkan vísa til affidare 任せる perduoti, pasiųsti, nukreipti nodot; pārsūtīt rujuk verwijzen henvise til skierować enviar a trimite направлять postúpiť, poukazovať, upozorniť napotiti proslediti hänskjuta, remittera, överlämna อ้างถึงข้อมูลอื่น ๆ ...-e göndermek 提交 відсилати; направляти رجوع کرنا chuyển sang; giới thiệu 提交
4 to look for information (in something) If I'm not sure how to spell a word, I refer to a dictionary. raadpleeg يَبْحَث عن مَعْلومات отнасям се podívat se do slå efter nachschlagen προσφεύγω, ανατρέχω consultar (millestki) järele vaatama رجوع کردن به tarkistaa consulter לְהֵיעָזֵר संपर्क करना pogledati (zaviriti) u rječnik utánanéz melihat leita til/í consultare 参照する 참조하다 pažiūrėti konsultēties; meklēt uzziņu rujuk raadplegen slå opp i, se etter odwołać się consultar a consulta справляться pozrieť sa (do), nahliadnuť pogledati (v) potražiti rådfråga, slå upp i ค้นหาข้อมูล ...-e bakmak 查閱 звертатися معلومات کے لیے کتاب وغیرہ دیکھنا tra cứu 查阅
n referee [refəˈriː]
1 a person who controls boxing, football etc matches, makes sure that the rules are not broken etc The referee sent two of the players off the field. skeidsregter حَكَم съдия soudce dommer der Schiedsrichter διαιτητής árbitro kohtunik داور tuomari arbitre שוֹפֶט रेफरी sudac játékvezető wasit dómari arbitro レフリー 심판 teisėjas tiesnesis (sportā) pengadil scheidsrechter dommer sędzia árbitro arbitru рефери rozhodca sodnik sudija domare กรรมการ hakem 裁判員 суддя, рефері کھیل کا نگراں trọng tài 裁判员
2 a person who is willing to provide a note about one's character, ability etc, eg when one applies for new job. referent, verwysing حَكَم على الشَّخْصِيَّه أثناء المُقابلات рецензент ručitel reference die Referenz πρόσωπο που παρέχει επαγγελματικές συστάσεις garante, persona que da referencias sobre otra soovitaja معرف suosittelija répondant/-ante מַמלִיץ हवालाकर्ता osoba koja može dati mišljenje (preporuku) ajánló pemberi referensi ábyrgðarmaður referenza 身元保証人 (취업 학생의) 추천인 rekomenduojantis asmuo rekomendācija; atsauksme rujukan referentie referanse osoba polecająca referência persoană care dă referinţe поручитель ručiteľ porok izdavalac preporuke referensperson กรรมการในการสัมภาษณ์งาน tavsiye mektubu yazan kimse 鑒定人 особа, що дає рекомендацію ثالث người chứng nhận 鉴定人
v – past tense, past participle ˌrefeˈreed –
to act as a referee for a match I've been asked to referee (a football match) on Saturday. skeidsregter wees يَحْكُم في مُباراه реферирам soudcovat dømme Schiedsrichter sein bei διαιτητεύω arbitrar kohtunikuks olema داوری کردن toimia erotuomarina arbitrer לִשפּוֹט मैंच में रेफरी का काम suditi (na utakmici) vezet (mérkőzést) mewasiti dæma arbitrare レフリーを勤める 심판을 보다 teisėjauti tiesāt (sportā); būt par tiesnesi mengadili als scheidsrechter optrreden dømme sędziować arbitrar a arbitra судить rozhodovať, pískať soditi suditi döma ทำหน้าที่เป็นผู้ตัดสิน hakemlik yapmak 擔任裁判 бути суддею کھیل کا نگراں ہونا làm trọng tài 担任裁判
n reference [ˈrefərəns]
1 (an) act of referring (to something); a mention (of something) He made several references to her latest book; With reference to your request for information, I regret to inform you that I am unable to help you. verwysing إشارَه отнасяне zmínka; pokud jde o henvisning der Verweis αναφορά, μνεία referencia viide مراجعه viittaus référence; concernant הִתייַחסוּת संदर्भ referenca hivatkozás, utalás penyebutan tilvísun riferimento 言及 참고, 참조, 언급 atsiliepimas, užsiminimas atsaukšanās; atsauce rujukan verwijzing henvisning, referanse; i henhold til wzmianka, odniesienie referência referire; referitor (la) упоминание zmienka; čo sa týka sklicevanje upućivanje hänvisning, hänsyftning, refererande การอ้างอิง ricanızla ilgili olarak; söz etme, değinme 提及，涉及 посилання; згадування حوالہ sự tham khảo 提及，涉及
2 a note about one's character, ability etc, eg when one applies for a new job Our new secretary had excellent references from her previous employers. verwysing, referent شَهادَه شَخْص حَوْل شَخْصِيَّة إنْسان справка reference anbefaling die Referenz σύσταση referencias soovitus معرفی نامه suositukset références הַמלָצָה उल्लेख preporuka ajánlólevél referensi meðmæli referenze 人物証明書 출전 명시, 참조문, 인용문 atsiliepimas, rekomendacija rekomendācija; atsauksme rujukan referentie referanse, anbefaling list polecający, referencja, opinia referência referinţe рекомендация referencia, posudok, osvedčenie priporočilo preporuka referens หนังสือรับรอง referans, bonservis (關於品行、能力等的)證明、介紹 рекомендація استناد nhận xét 关于品行、能力等的）证明、介绍
3 an indication in a book, report etc, showing where one got one's information or where further information can be found. verwysing مَرْجِع، مَصْدَر مَعْلومات отпратка odkaz henvisning der Hinweis παραπομπή referencia viitamine کتاب مرجع lähdehakemisto référence אַסמַכתָא निर्देश, सम्बन्ध, हवाला referenca, bilješka u knjizi hivatkozás, utalás petunjuk tilvísun, tilvísunarskrá rimando, rinvio 参照事項 추천서 nuoroda atsauce, norāde nota rujukan verwijzing litteraturhenvisning odsyłacz referência referinţă ссылка odkaz, odvolávka napotitev pomoćna literatura hänvisning เอกสารอ้างอิง gönderme 參考書目 виноска نشان حاشیہ phần tham khảo 参考书目
reference book
a book which is not usually read from beginning to end but which is consulted occasionally for information, eg a dictionary or encyclopaedia. naslaanwerk مَرْجِع عِلْمي، كِتاب أو موسوعَه справочник (naučný) slovník, příručka opslagsbog; håndbog das Nachschlagewerk βιβλίο αναφοράς obra de referencia teatmeteos کتاب خانه کتب مرجع hakuteos ouvrage de référence סֵפֶר עִיוּן संदर्भ पुस्तक priručnik kézikönyv buku rujukan uppsláttarrit opera/testo/libro di consultazione 参考図書 참고 서적 informacinė knyga, žinynas uzziņu grāmata; rokasgrāmata buku rujukan naslagwerk oppslagsbok, håndbok leksykon, słownik itd. livro de referência carte de referinţă справочник (náučný) slovník, príručka priročnik pomoćna literatura uppslags-, hand-, referensbok หนังสืออ้างอิง başvuru kitabı 參考書 довідник حوالہ جاتی کتاب sách tham khảo 参考书
reference library
a library of books to be looked at for information but not borrowed. naslaanbiblioteek مَكْتَبَة مَراجِع читалня příruční knihovna håndbibliotek die Handbücherei βιβλιοθήκη έργων αναφοράς biblioteca de consulta käsikogu, avariiulikogu کتابخانه مرجع käsikirjasto bibliothèque de consultation סִפרִייַת עִיוּן संदर्भ पुस्तकालय knjižnica s priručnicima, priručna biblioteka kézikönyvtár perpustakaan rujukan bókasafn með uppsláttarritum biblioteca di consultazione 참고 전용 도서관 parankinė biblioteka uzziņu bibliotēka perpustakaan rujukan naslagbibliotheek hånd-/referansebibliotek bibliote(cz)ka podręczna biblioteca de referência bibliotecă cu cărţi pentru sala de lectură справочная библиотека príručná knižnica priročna knjižnica literatua referensbibliotek ห้องสมุดที่มีหนังสือสำหรับอ้างอิงแต่ยืมออกไปไม่ได้ başvuru kitaplığı 參考書閱覽室 довідкова бібліотека حوالہ جاتی کتب خانہ thư viện tham khảo 参考书阅览室
reference , noun, is spelt with -r- .
referred and referring are spelt with -rr- .
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