The meaning of REFERENCE is the act of referring or consulting. How to use reference in a sentence.

REFERENCE definition: 1. a mention of something: 2. a writer or a book, article, etc. that is mentioned in a piece of…. Learn more.

REFERENCE meaning: 1 : the act of mentioning something in speech or in writing the act of referring to something or someone; 2 : the act of looking at or in something for information

Usage Note: Though originally a noun, reference is often used as a transitive verb meaning "to supply (a book, article, or other work) with references." People also use the verb to mean "To …

A reference is someone you can rely on to put in a good word for you when applying for a job. Or, a reference might be an outside source you use in a research paper.

Look up your source by its title, URL, ISBN, or DOI, and let Scribbr find and fill in all the relevant information automatically. Generate flawless citations according to the official APA, MLA, …

In semantics, reference is generally construed as the relationships between nouns or pronouns and objects that are named by them. Hence, the word "John" refers to the person John.