verbWord forms: -fers, -ferring or -ferred(often foll by to)
1. (intransitive)
to make mention (of)
2. (transitive)
to direct the attention of (someone) for information, facts, etc
the reader is referred to Chomsky, 1965
3. (intransitive)
to seek information (from)
I referred to a dictionary
he referred to his notes
4. (intransitive)
to be relevant (to); pertain or relate (to)
this song refers to an incident in the Civil War
5. (transitive)
to assign or attribute
Cromwell referred his victories to God
6. (transitive)
to hand over for consideration, reconsideration, or decision
to refer a complaint to another department
7. (transitive)
to hand back to the originator as unacceptable or unusable
8. (transitive) British
to fail (a student) in an examination
9. (transitive) British
to send back (a thesis) to a student for improvement
10. refer to drawer
11. (transitive)
to direct (a patient) for treatment to another doctor, usually a specialist
12. (transitive) social welfare
to direct (a client) to another agency or professional for a service
▶ USAGE The common practice of adding back to refer is tautologous, since this meaning is already contained in the re- of refer: this refers to (not back to) what has already been said. However, when refer is used in the sense of passing a document or question for further considerationto the person from whom it was received, it may be appropriate to say he referred the matter back
Derived forms
referable (ˈrɛfərəbəl) or referrable (rɪˈfɜːrəbəl)
adjective
referral (reˈferral)
noun
referrer (reˈferrer)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Latin referre to carry back, from re- + ferre to bear1