reference

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

reference

/ˈɹɛf.(ə.)ɹəns/ Canada, US, UK
[ˈɹɛf.ɹn̩s] Canada, US, UK
/ˈɹɛf.ə.ɹɛns/ obsolete
/ˈɹef.(ə.)ɹəns/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɛfəɹəns

Where it comes from

From Middle French référence, from Medieval Latin referentia, nominative neuter plural of referēns, present participle of referō (“return, reply”, literally “carry back”). Morphologically refer + -ence.

noun references

archaic, countable, literary, uncountable A relationship or relation (to something). A man is beloued of a man, in that he is a man, but all theſe are farre more eminent and great, when they ſhal proceed from a ſanctified ſpirit, that hath a true touch of Religion, and a reference to God.
countable, uncountable A measurement one can compare (some other measurement) to.
countable, uncountable Information about a person, provided by someone (a referee) with whom they are well acquainted. Changes will befall, and friends may part, / But distance only cannot change the heart / And were I call’d to prove th’ assertion true, / One proof should serve—a reference to you.
US, countable, especially, uncountable A person who provides this information; a referee.
attributive, countable, often, uncountable A reference work. reference grammar
countable, uncountable The act of referring: a submitting for information or decision.
countable, uncountable A relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object.
countable, literary, uncountable A short written identification of a previously published work which is used as a source for a text.
countable, literary, uncountable A previously published written work thus indicated; a source.
countable, uncountable An object containing information which refers to data stored elsewhere, as opposed to containing the data itself.
countable, uncountable A special sequence used to represent complex characters in markup languages, such as ™ for the ™ symbol.
countable, obsolete, uncountable Appeal. Y’are falne into a Princely hand, feare nothing, / Make your full reference freely to my Lord, / Who is ſo full of Grace, that it flowes ouer / On all that neede.

verb references · referencing · referenced

To provide a list of references for (a text). You must thoroughly reference your paper before submitting it.
To cite, to use as a reference. Reference the dictionary for word meanings.
proscribed, sometimes To mention, to refer to. In his speech, the candidate obliquely referenced the past failures of his opponent.
To contain the value that is a memory address of some value stored in memory. The given pointer will reference the actual generated data.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: denotation, quotation, cite, mention, character, reference work, reference book, consultation, character reference, reference point, source, credit, citation, extension, appellation, designation

Translations

Every language

noun academic writing: identification of a source

中文	引用 yǐnyòng
हिन्दी	संदर्भ sandarbh, उल्लेख ullekh
Português	referência
Русский	ссы́лка ssýlka, рефере́нция referéncija
العربية	مَرْجِع marjiʕ

noun literary: relationship

Русский	связь svjazʹ

noun measurement one can compare to

Español	referencia
한국어	참고 chamgo, 참조 chamjo
日本語	参考 sankō
中文	參考 /参考 cānkǎo
हिन्दी	संदर्भ sandarbh
Português	referência
Français	référence
Deutsch	Referenz
Italiano	riferimento
Română	referință
Русский	образе́ц obrazéc, отноше́ние otnošénije, рефере́нция referéncija, ссы́лка ssýlka

noun information about a person

Español	referencia
日本語	照会 shōkai, 照会先 shōkaisaki
中文	證明 /证明 zhèngmíng
हिन्दी	संदर्भ sandarbh
Português	referência
Français	recommandation, référence
Deutsch	Referenz
Русский	рекоменда́ция rekomendácija, поручи́тельство poručítelʹstvo, рефере́нция referéncija, характери́стика xarakterístika

noun academic writing: source

Español	referencia
日本語	出典 shutten
中文	來源 /来源 láiyuán, 參考文獻 /参考文献 cānkǎo wénxiàn
हिन्दी	संदर्भ sandarbh, उल्लेख ullekh
Português	referência
Français	référence
Deutsch	Quelle
Ελληνικά	πηγές pigés
Română	referință, sursă de referință
Русский	ссы́лка ssýlka, отсы́лка otsýlka, исто́чник istóčnik
العربية	مَرْجِع marjiʕ

noun computing: object containing information which refers to data stored elsewhere

日本語	参照 sanshō
中文	引用 yǐnyòng
Français	référence
Deutsch	Referenz
Ελληνικά	αναφορά anaforá
Română	referință
Русский	ссылка ssylka
Tiếng Việt	tham chiếu

verb to refer to

Español	referenciar
日本語	参照する sanshō suru
中文	引用 yǐnyòng
Português	referenciar
Français	faire référence à, référencer, se référer à
Deutsch	referenzieren

verb to mention

Español	referenciar
日本語	言及 genkyū suru
中文	提及 tíjí, 提到 tídào
हिन्दी	उल्लेख करना ullekh karnā
Português	referenciar, mencionar
Français	faire référence à, se référer à
Deutsch	sich beziehen
Русский	упомина́ть upominátʹ

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"reference." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/reference. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

reference. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/reference

Chicago

"reference." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/reference.

BibTeX

@misc{reference_2026,
  title = {reference},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/reference},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}