refer

English Online Dictionary. What means refer‎? What does refer mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English referren, from Old French referer, from Latin referre. The noun (used in journalism) is from the verb.

Pronunciation

(verb):

• (UK) enPR: rī-fû, IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈfɜː/
• (US) enPR: rī-fûr, IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈfɝ/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: re‧fer

(noun):

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹiːfə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹiːfɝ/
• Homophone: reefer
• Rhymes: -iːfə(ɹ)

Verb

refer (third-person singular simple present refers, present participle referring, simple past and past participle referred)

1. (transitive) To direct the attention of (someone toward something)

   The shop assistant referred me to the help desk on ground floor.

2. (transitive) To submit to (another person or group) for consideration; to send or direct elsewhere.

   He referred the matter to the principal.

   to refer a patient to a psychiatrist

3. (transitive) To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason, or ground of explanation.

   He referred the phenomena to electrical disturbances.

4. (intransitive) To mention (something); to direct attention (to something)
5. (intransitive, stative) To make reference to; to be about; to relate to; to regard; to allude to.

6. (grammar) To be referential to another element in a sentence.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

7. (intransitive, programming) To point to either a specific location in computer memory or to a specific object. [with to]

   In C, the pointer obtained by &a refers to the variable a.
8. (transitive, education) To require to resit an examination.

9. (intransitive, of a term or name) To have the meaning of, to denote.

Synonyms

• delegate
• direct

Derived terms

• cross-refer
• refer to
• refer someone to

Related terms

• reference
• referral
• relate
• relative
• relation
• relationship

Translations

Noun

refer (plural refers)

1. (journalism) A blurb on the front page of a newspaper issue or section that refers the reader to the full story inside the issue or section by listing its slug or headline and its page number.

Further reading

• refer on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Ferre, Freer, Frere, freer

Catalan

Etymology

From re- +‎ fer (“to do”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [rəˈfe]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [reˈfeɾ]

Verb

refer (first-person singular present refaig, first-person singular preterite refiu, past participle refet)

1. to redo

Conjugation

Further reading

• “refer” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “refer”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “refer” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “refer” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin

Verb

refer

1. second-person singular present active imperative of referō