# refer

/ɹəˈfɝ/ (US) · /ɹɪfˈɜː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/refer
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to mention

verb · CEFR B1

to talk about or mention something or someone briefly.

For teachers: to make mention of or direct attention to something or someone. Intransitive and typically requires the preposition 'to'.

- In her speech, she referred to the help she received from her family.
- The speaker referred to several recent studies to support his argument that urban green spaces significantly improve mental health.

### 2. to send for help

verb · CEFR B2

to send someone to a person or place for treatment, help, or advice.

For teachers: to direct a person to a specialist, authority, or source of information for consultation or action. Transitive; takes a direct object and the preposition 'to'.

- The doctor referred him to a specialist for further tests on his knee.
- After the initial assessment, the general practitioner referred the patient to a cardiologist for a more comprehensive diagnostic evaluation.

### 3. to mean or represent

verb · CEFR B2

to be used as a name for something or to describe a specific thing.

For teachers: to serve as a name for or to denote a specific object, person, or idea. Intransitive; used with 'to'.

- The term 'the Big Apple' refers to New York City.
- In this specific legal context, the word 'property' refers only to physical land and buildings, excluding intellectual assets.

### 4. to look at for information

verb · CEFR B1

to look at a book, map, or website to find information.

For teachers: to consult a source of information for facts or guidance. Intransitive; used with 'to'.

- Please refer to the map on page five to find the nearest station.
- Students are encouraged to refer to the original manuscript rather than relying solely on modern translations which may lack nuance.

### 5. computing

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to point to a specific place in a computer's memory or a piece of data.

For teachers: to point to a specific memory address or object within a program's execution environment.

- This variable refers to the user's saved profile information.
- The pointer refers to a specific block of memory that was allocated during the initialization phase of the application.

### 6. newspaper blurb

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a short note on the front page of a newspaper telling you where to find the full story.

For teachers: a brief promotional text or headline on a publication's cover that directs the reader to a full article inside.

- The front-page refer pointed readers to the sports section for the full interview.
- The editor decided to place a prominent refer on the home page to drive traffic toward the investigative report buried in the lifestyle section.

## Examples

- Please refer to the map on page five.
- The speaker did not refer to the recent scandal during her presentation.
- In his concluding remarks, the professor chose to refer to several obscure manuscripts that challenged the prevailing historical narrative of the era.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.