a remark that calls attention to something or someone; she made frequent mention of her promotion; there was no mention of it; the speaker made several references to his wife

[ Syn: mention ]

the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to; he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes'

a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage; the students essay failed to list several important citations; the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book; the article includes mention of similar clinical cases

[ Syn: citation , cite , acknowledgment , credit , mention , quotation ]

an indicator that orients you generally; it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved

[ Syn: reference point , point of reference ]

a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts; he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic

[ Syn: reference book , reference work , book of facts ]

a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the persons qualifications and dependability; requests for character references are all too often answered evasively

[ Syn: character , character reference ]

the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; the extension of `satellite of Mars is the set containing only Demos and Phobos

[ Syn: denotation , extension ]

the act of referring or consulting; reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer

[ Syn: consultation ]

a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; he carried an armful of references back to his desk; he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation

[ Syn: source ]

(computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored

[ Syn: address , computer address ]

refer to; he referenced his colleagues work

[ Syn: cite ]