refer

[ ri-fur ]

/ rɪˈfɜr /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR refer ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), re·ferred, re·fer·ring.

to direct for information or anything required: He referred me to books on astrology.

to direct the attention or thoughts of: The asterisk refers the reader to a footnote.

to hand over or submit for information, consideration, decision, etc.: to refer the argument to arbitration.

to assign to a class, period, etc.; regard as belonging or related.

to have relation; relate; apply.

verb (used without object), re·ferred, re·fer·ring.

to direct attention, as a reference mark does.

to have recourse or resort; turn, as for aid or information: to refer to one's notes.

to make reference or allusion: The author referred to his teachers twice in his article.

Origin of refer

1325–75; Middle English referren < Latin referre to bring back, equivalent to re- re- + ferre to bring, bear¹

SYNONYMS FOR refer

4 attribute, ascribe, impute.

5 pertain, belong.

8 advert, allude.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR refer ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM refer

ref·er·a·ble, re·fer·ra·ble, re·fer·ri·ble

[ref-er-uh-buhl, ri-fur-] /ˈrɛf ər ə bəl, rɪˈfɜr-/, adjective re·fer·rer, noun mis·re·fer, verb, mis·re·ferred, mis·re·fer·ring. pre·re·fer, verb (used with object), pre·re·ferred, pre·re·fer·ring.

un·re·ferred, adjective well-re·ferred, adjective

Words nearby refer

refect, refection, refectory, refectory table, refel, refer, referee, reference, reference book, reference electrode, reference frame

Example sentences from the Web for refer

Panicked, I reached out to hoarding experts, who often refer to any kind of obsessive digital collecting as “infomania.”

I’m a Digital Hoarder |Lizzie Crocker |December 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
His acolytes, some of whom refer to themselves as “health freedom fighters” are undeterred by this sort of jealous shoptalk.

Honey Boo Boo, Snake Oil, and Ebola: The Weird World of Young Living Essential Oils |Kent Sepkowitz |December 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
One thing I do to respect the people who want to keep hip hop ‘sacred’ is refer to myself as rap-cabaret.

From Church of Christ to Pansexual Rapper |Tyler Gillespie |November 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
How am I supposed to refer to a person of the opposite sex whom I am not married to but who is, well, “special”?

What Should I Call the Man I Love? |Dushka Zapata |November 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

You refer to a car accident you were in as a kind of spark for you to get back into acting.

All Eyes on Anjelica Huston: The Legendary Actress on Love, Abuse, and Jack Nicholson |Alex Suskind |November 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
We refer to the gifted author of the German-American Romances.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 68, No. 421, November 1850 |Various
I have dealt with the chief of these theories in the ninth chapter of my History of Creation, and must refer the reader thereto.

The Wonders of Life |Ernst Haeckel
I cannot make out the nature or origin of the mental experience to which I refer.

Theaetetus |Plato
I refer to the delicacies furnished to the officials and inmates.

Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, April 1900 |Various
But she holds it on sufferance and by a complimentary construction of language which does not refer to her.

The Innocents Abroad |Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for refer

refer

/ (rɪˈfɜː) /

verb -fers, -ferring or -ferred (often foll by to)

(intr) to make mention (of)

(tr) to direct the attention of (someone) for information, facts, etc the reader is referred to Chomsky, 1965

(intr) to seek information (from) I referred to a dictionary of English usage; he referred to his notes

(intr) to be relevant (to); pertain or relate (to) this song refers to an incident in the Civil War

(tr) to assign or attribute Cromwell referred his victories to God

(tr) to hand over for consideration, reconsideration, or decision to refer a complaint to another department

(tr) to hand back to the originator as unacceptable or unusable

(tr) British to fail (a student) in an examination

(tr) British to send back (a thesis) to a student for improvement

refer to drawer a request by a bank that the payee consult the drawer concerning a cheque payable by that bank (usually because the drawer has insufficient funds in his account), payment being suspended in the meantime

(tr) to direct (a patient) for treatment to another doctor, usually a specialist

(tr) social welfare to direct (a client) to another agency or professional for a service

Derived forms of refer

referable (ˈrɛfərəbəl) or referrable (rɪˈfɜːrəbəl), adjective referral, noun referrer, noun

Word Origin for refer

C14: from Latin referre to carry back, from re- + ferre to bear 1

usage for refer

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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

refer

verb (used with object), re·ferred, re·fer·ring.

verb (used without object), re·ferred, re·fer·ring.

Origin of refer

SYNONYMS FOR refer

OTHER WORDS FROM refer

Words nearby refer

Example sentences from the Web for refer

British Dictionary definitions for refer

verb -fers, -ferring or -ferred (often foll by to)

Derived forms of refer

Word Origin for refer

usage for refer

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

refer

verb (used with object), re·ferred, re·fer·ring.

verb (used without object), re·ferred, re·fer·ring.

Origin of refer

SYNONYMS FOR refer

OTHER WORDS FROM refer

Words nearby refer

Words related to refer

Example sentences from the Web for refer

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for refer

verb -fers, -ferring or -ferred (often foll by to)

Derived forms of refer

Word Origin for refer

usage for refer

British Dictionary definitions for refer