refer
/ɹɪˈfɝ/ verb A2- To direct the attention of (someone toward something). · The shop assistant referred me to the help desk on ground floor.
- To submit to (another person or group) for consideration; to send or direct elsewhere. · He referred the matter to the principal.· The doctor may refer patients to a psychiatrist.
- To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason, or ground of explanation. · He referred the phenomena to electrical disturbances.
- To mention (something); to direct attention (to something). · To explain the problem, the teacher referred to an example in another textbook.
- To make reference to; to be about; to relate to; to regard; to allude to. · The recipe referred to several unusual ingredients.
- To be referential to another element in a sentence.
- To point to either a specific location in computer memory or to a specific object. · In C, the pointer obtained by &a refers to the variable a.
- To require to resit an examination. · Smith's marks in the finals were unsatisfactory and he was referred.
He/she/it refers · Past referred · Past participle referred · -ing form referring
Verb forms
- Base form
- refer
- He/she/it
- refers
- Past
- referred
- Past participle
- referred
- -ing form
- referring
An irregular verb: learn its past and past participle by heart.
From the library
“You mistake, sir,” said Morcerf with a gloomy smile; “I am not referring in the least to matrimony, and I only addressed myself to M.
“I wish to consult you on this passage, ‘Molli fugiens anhelitu,’ you know it refers to a stag flying from a wolf.
They are both from the Guion Steamship Company, and refer to the sailing of their boats from Liverpool.
“That he certainly did think he had given you offence in an affair which he merely referred to without entering into particulars, but that whoever possessed the good opinion and confidence of the ship’s owners would have his preference also.”
Other matches
Learn refer in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.