Meaning

4 senses
  1. An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.

    The referee kicked Jim out of the game for fighting.

    Schiedsrichter, Schiedsrichterin, Referee

    судья́sudʹjá, ре́фери́rɛ́ferí, арби́трarbítr

    суддя́suddjá, рефері́referí, арбі́трarbítr

  2. A person who settles a dispute.

    Schlichter, Schiedsmann, Ombudsmann

    судья́sudʹjá, арби́трarbítr

  3. (UK)A person who writes a letter of reference or provides a reference by phone call for someone. (In the UK such a person is sometimes, and in the US the person is typically, referred to as a reference.)

    Your application, along with letters from three referees, should be received by January 31.

    Empfehlungsgeber, Befürworter, Protagonist

    поручи́тельporučítelʹ, поручи́тельницаporučítelʹnica

  4. An expert who judges the manuscript of an article or book to decide if it should be published.

    Rezensent, Lektor

    рецензе́нтrecenzént

    someone who reads manuscripts and judges their suitability for publication

Examples

127 sentences
  1. Tom was one of the referees.

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  2. Tom called the referee an idiot.

    ruТом назвал судью идиотом.

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  3. I was the referee that evening.

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  4. Tom is a very experienced referee.

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  5. Tom is one of the referees.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
sport: umpire, judge of a game:
Русский
By meaning 3
sport: umpire, judge of a game:
person who writes a letter of reference:
expert who judges a manuscript:
Deutsch
By meaning 4
sport: umpire, judge of a game:
person who settles a dispute:
person who writes a letter of reference:
expert who judges a manuscript:

Origin

From Middle English [Term?], from past participle of Old French referer (“to relate, to re

From Middle English [Term?], from past participle of Old French referer (“to relate, to refer”), from Latin referre (“to carry back, to report, to notify”); as if refer + -ee, that is, the person to whom something is referred for consideration.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: referees
Singularreferee
Pluralreferees

regular

Synonyms

3 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • (sports) the chief official (as in boxing or American football) who is expected to ensure fair play:ref
  • someone who reads manuscripts and judges their suitability for publication:reviewerreader

Word family

9 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
referee — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto