Word
refs
UK/ɹˈɛfs/
Definitions
01sports officials
n. the people in a sports game who make sure everyone follows the rules.
n. the plural of 'ref', a clipped form of 'referee'; refers to officials who supervise a match.
“The fans were angry because the refs missed a clear foul.”
“The league decided to increase the number of refs on the field to ensure better coverage of high-speed plays.”
Informal
Usage
Commonly used in speech and sports journalism as a shorter alternative to 'referees'.
Antonyms
02document references
n. a list of sources or books mentioned at the end of a report or essay.
n. the plural of 'ref', a clipped form of 'reference'; used in academic or professional contexts to denote citations.
“Don't forget to check your refs before you submit the final paper.”
“The editor noted that several of the refs in the bibliography were missing their publication dates.”
Informal · Academic
Usage
Frequently used in academic shorthand or informal professional communication.
Synonyms
Etymology
Short for refreshments.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/refs