reference in WordNet English dictionary

1. a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
   "the student's 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"
   citation  cite  acknowledgment  credit  reference  mention  quotation 
   
2. (computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored
   address  computer address  reference 
   
3. a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts
   "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"
   reference book  reference  reference work  book of facts 
   
4. a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability
   "requests for character references are all too often answered evasively"
   character  reference  character reference 
   
5. the act of referring or consulting
   "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"
   reference  consultation 
   
6. 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"
   reference  denotation  extension 
   
7. 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"
   mention  reference 
   
8. an indicator that orients you generally
   "it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved"
   reference point  point of reference  reference 
   
9. 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"
   reference 
   
10. 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"
    reference  source 
    

1. refer to
   "he referenced his colleagues' work"
   reference  cite