reference

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”

an indicator that orients you generally

“it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved”

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”

a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to

“he carried an armful of references back to his desk”

the act of referring or consulting

“reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer”

a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage

the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to

a remark that calls attention to something or someone

“the speaker made several references to his wife”

the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored

a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts

“he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic”

refer to

“he referenced his colleagues' work”