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Reference
Reference is a relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to refer to the second object. It is called a name for the second object. The second object, the one to which the first object refers, is called the referent of the first object. A name is usually a phrase or expression, or some other symbolic representation. Its referent may be anything – a material object, a person, an event, an activity, or an abstract concept.
References can take on many forms, including: a thought, a sensory perception that is audible (onomatopoeia), visual (text), olfactory, or tactile, emotional state, relationship with other, spacetime coordinate, symbolic or alpha-numeric, a physical object or an energy projection. In some cases, methods are used that intentionally hide the reference from some observers, as in cryptography.
References feature in many spheres of human activity and knowledge, and the term adopts shades of meaning particular to the contexts in which it is used. Some of them are described in the sections below.
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Referral (noun)
The act or process of transferring someone or something to another, of sending by reference, or referring.
“The insurance company insists I get a referral from my regular doctor. I can’t just go to the specialist; a GP has got to refer me.”
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Referral (noun)
A document used by schools detailing some form of a student’s misbehavior and listing the actions taken before and after the student’s receipt of the referral.
“After misbehaving in class, George was given a referral for disrupting class and sent to the office.”
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Reference (noun)
A relationship or relation (to something).
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Reference (noun)
A measurement one can compare to.
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Reference (noun)
Information about a person, provided by someone (a referee) with whom they are well acquainted.
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Reference (noun)
A person who provides this information; a referee.
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Reference (noun)
A reference work.
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Reference (noun)
A relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object.
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Reference (noun)
A short written identification of a previously published work which is used as a source for a text.
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Reference (noun)
A previously published written work thus indicated; a source.
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Reference (noun)
An object containing information which refers to data stored elsewhere, as opposed to containing the data itself.
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Reference (noun)
A special sequence used to represent complex characters in markup languages, such as
™for the ™ symbol. -
Reference (noun)
Appeal.
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Reference (verb)
To provide a list of references for (a text).
“You must thoroughly reference your paper before submitting it.”
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Reference (verb)
To refer to, to use as a reference.
“Reference the dictionary for word meanings.”
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Reference (verb)
To mention, to cite.
“In his speech, the candidate obliquely referenced the past failures of his opponent.”
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Reference (verb)
To contain the value that is a memory address of some value stored in memory.
“The given pointer will reference the actual generated data.”