Definition of refer | Collins English Dictionary

refer (rɪˈfɜː)

(often foll by to)

(intr) to make mention (of)
(tr) to direct the attention of (someone) for information, facts, etc ⇒ the reader is referred to Chomsky, 1965
(intr) to seek information (from) ⇒ I referred to a dictionary of English usage he referred to his notes
(intr) to be relevant (to); pertain or relate (to) ⇒ this song refers to an incident in the Civil War
(tr) to assign or attribute ⇒ Cromwell referred his victories to God
(tr) to hand over for consideration, reconsideration, or decision ⇒ to refer a complaint to another department
(tr) to hand back to the originator as unacceptable or unusable
(tr) British to fail (a student) in an examination
(tr) British to send back (a thesis) to a student for improvement
See refer to drawer
(tr) to direct (a patient) for treatment to another doctor, usually a specialist
(tr) social welfare to direct (a client) to another agency or professional for a service

referable (ˈrɛfərəb^əll Pronunciation for referable

) referrable (rɪˈfɜːrəb^əll Pronunciation for referrable

) adjective reˈferral noun reˈferrer noun

C14: from Latin referre to carry back, from re- + ferre to bearC14: from Latin to carry back, from + to ¹

View thesaurus entry

British English: refer If you refer to a particular subject or person, you mention them.In his speech, he referred to a recent trip abroad.rɪˈfɜː VERB In his speech, he referred to a recent trip abroad.
Spanish: remitir v
French: référer vi
German: sprechen von v
Chinese: 提到 v
Arabic: يُشيرُ إلى v
Portuguese: referir v
Russian: направлять v
Croatian: uputiti na v
Czech: zmínit (se) v zmiňovat (se)
Danish: referere til v
Dutch: verwijzen v
Finnish: viitata johonkin v
Greek: παραπέμπω v
Italian: indirizzare v
Japanese: 口に出す v
Korean: 언급하다 v
Norwegian: referere v
Polish: odnieść się v odnosić się
Brazilian Portuguese: referir v
European Spanish: remitir v
Swedish: hänvisa v
Thai: อ้างอิง v
Turkish: söz etmek v
Vietnamese: nhắc đến v

This gave him an opportunity to refer to Chiara's forgotten gift.
Low, Ona, Murky Shallows (1987)
So although the definition does refer to development, its primary goal is to meet the essential needs of the world's poor.
Spiked (2004)
Today's group is 25 per cent male and not necessarily religious but the people do refer to the gathering as "church.
Globe and Mail (2003)
The draft code proposes the removal of the requirement on councils to refer certain closure decisions to ministers.
Glasgow Herald (2001)
Whatever line you read up on afterwards you will always have to refer back to the line of Life to come to a proper conclusion.
Lilian Verner-Bonds, THORSONS WAY OF - PALMISTRY (2002)