Link Centre Dictionary

refer

re·fer

UK/ˈɹiːfə/ US/ˈɹifɚ/ fairly common

verb

1.

make reference to

  • “His name was mentioned in connection with the invention”
Synonyms
2.

have to do with or be relevant to

  • “There were lots of questions referring to her talk”
  • “My remark pertained to your earlier comments”
Synonyms
3.

think of, regard, or classify under a subsuming principle or with a general group or in relation to another

  • “This plant can be referred to a known species”
4.

send or direct for treatment, information, or a decision

  • “refer a patient to a specialist”
  • “refer a bill to a committee”
5.

seek information from

  • “You should consult the dictionary”
  • “refer to your notes”
Synonyms
6.

have as a meaning

  • “multi-”
  • “many”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English referren, from Old French referer, from Latin referre. The noun (used in journalism) is from the verb. Doublet of relate. See also infer, collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others.

Phrases

  • refer someone to
  • refer someone to the reply given in Arkell v Pressdram
  • refer to

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.