reference

n. the act of mentioning something or someone in speech or writing.

n. the act of mentioning or alluding to something. Often used with the preposition 'to'.

“The speaker made a quick reference to the new law during her presentation.”

“The author made several subtle references to local history that only long-term residents of the town would truly appreciate.”

n. a note in a book that tells you where a piece of information came from.

n. a citation or note in a text that identifies a source of information or a previously published work.

“You must include a list of references at the end of your essay.”

“The professor insisted that every factual claim be supported by a primary source reference to ensure academic integrity.”

Academic

n. a letter written by someone who knows you, describing your skills to a new employer.

n. a formal statement or letter provided by a referee regarding a person's character, skills, or previous work performance.

“My old manager agreed to write a positive reference for my new job application.”

“The recruitment agency contacted three professional references to verify the candidate's experience before making a final offer.”

n. something used to find facts, like a dictionary or a map.

n. a source of information used for consultation, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia. Often used as an attributive noun.

“Keep this manual nearby for easy reference while you build the desk.”

“The library keeps its most valuable reference books in a separate room where they cannot be borrowed.”

n. a piece of data that tells a computer where to find other information.

n. an object or value that refers to data stored elsewhere in memory rather than containing the data itself.

“The program crashed because it tried to access a reference that no longer existed.”

“Passing a large object by reference is generally more efficient than passing it by value, as it avoids unnecessary data copying.”

Technical

v. to mention something or list it as a source.

v. to provide a list of references for a text or to cite a specific source. Sometimes used as a synonym for 'refer to'.

“The report references several studies conducted over the last ten years.”

“The article extensively references recent breakthroughs in quantum computing to support its predictions about future encryption.”