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Refer   /rəfˈər/  /rɪfˈər/   Listen
verb
Refer  v. t.  (past & past part. referred; pres. part. referring)  
1.
To carry or send back. (Obs.)
2.
Hence: To send or direct away; to send or direct elsewhere, as for treatment, aid, information, decision, etc.; to make over, or pass over, to another; as, to refer a student to an author; to refer a beggar to an officer; to refer a bill to a committee; a court refers a matter of fact to a commissioner for investigation, or refers a question of law to a superior tribunal.
3.
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; as, he referred the phenomena to electrical disturbances.
To refer one's self, to have recourse; to betake one's self; to make application; to appeal. (Obs.) "I'll refer me to all things sense."


Refer  v. i.  
1.
To have recourse; to apply; to appeal; to betake one's self; as, to refer to a dictionary. "In suits... it is to refer to some friend of trust."
2.
To have relation or reference; to relate; to point; as, the figure refers to a footnote. "Of those places that refer to the shutting and opening the abyss, I take notice of that in Job."
3.
To carry the mind or thought; to direct attention; as, the preacher referred to the late election.
4.
To direct inquiry for information or a guarantee of any kind, as in respect to one's integrity, capacity, pecuniary ability, and the like; as, I referred to his employer for the truth of his story.
Synonyms: To allude; advert; suggest; appeal. Refer, Allude, Advert. We refer to a thing by specifically and distinctly introducing it into our discourse. We allude to it by introducing it indirectly or indefinitely, as by something collaterally allied to it. We advert to it by turning off somewhat abruptly to consider it more at large. Thus, Macaulay refers to the early condition of England at the opening of his history; he alludes to these statements from time to time; and adverts, in the progress of his work, to various circumstances of peculiar interest, on which for a time he dwells. "But to do good is... that that Solomon chiefly refers to in the text." "This, I doubt not, was that artificial structure here alluded to." "Now to the universal whole advert: The earth regard as of that whole a part."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Refer" Quotes from Famous Books



... of that," replied the stranger, as he looked over a memorandum-book. "I do not know whom you denominate your good landlord; that being no way of describing a man in the eye of the law: but if you refer to the original grantor, or lessor, Francis Folingsby, of Folingsby-place, Monmouthshire, Esq., I am to inform you that he died at Bath ...
— Tales & Novels, Vol. 2 • Maria Edgeworth
... were glad of this pretence for openly joining a cause which they always had secretly favoured. The king was left at Odiham in Hampshire, with a poor retinue of only seven knights; and after trying several expedients to elude the blow, after offering to refer all differences to the pope alone, or to eight barons, four to be chosen by himself, and four by the confederates [k], he found himself at last obliged to submit at discretion. [FN [h] Ibid. p. 177. Chron. Dunst. vol. i. p. 71. [i] M. Paris, p. ...
— The History of England, Volume I • David Hume
... on the duties of the housekeeper, we will briefly refer to the very great responsibility which attaches to her position. Like "Caesar's wife," she should be "above suspicion," and her honesty and sobriety unquestionable; for there are many temptations ...
— The Book of Household Management • Mrs. Isabella Beeton
... picture representing the horrible execution of the Strelitzes. I said that "such pictures prove that the world does, after all, progress slowly, in spite of what pessimists say, and that in order to refute pessimists one has only to refer to the improvements in criminal law." To this he agreed cordially, and declared the abolition of torture in procedure and penalty to be one great ...
— Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White Volume II • Andrew Dickson White
... He never entertained there. On the rare occasions when visitors were admitted, an unfinished landscape in oils was always on the easel, in a prominent place in his sitting room. He would invariably refer to it, telling one in his humorously unconvincing way that 'he had just put in the butterfly.' Those of us who had seen his work in the drawing class presided over by 'Bully' Wakeman at Portora were not likely to ...
— Oscar Wilde, Volume 1 (of 2) - His Life and Confessions • Frank Harris


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