refer

Related to refer: refer back

refer (one) to (someone or something)

To send or direct one to someone or something as a source of information or support. You can refer the customer to clause 34-B if they are still unsure of their obligation. Let me refer you to a friend of mine. He's a clinical psychologist and may be able to help.
See also: refer

refer back

To submit something back to some person or group of authority, as to decide, settle, or examine something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "refer" and "back." We'll have to refer back this matter and proceed only once we've heard from our legal team. We've made the changes requested of us, so now we have to refer it back to the panel to see if it can be approved.
See also: back, refer

refer back to (someone or something)

1. To consult some previous piece or source of information; to turn one's attention back to something. We all referred back to the footage of our last game to see where each player could make improvements. I'll have to refer back to my notes to see what we had decided on at the last meeting.
2. To relate or pertain to something previously mentioned or seen. The image of the flowers refers back to the scene at the beginning of the film. The senator was referring back to the speech she gave in May.
3. To submit something back to some person or group of authority, as to decide, settle, or examine something. We'll have to refer this matter back to our legal team before we can proceed any further. We've made the changes requested of us, so now we have to refer it back to the panel to see if it can be approved.
4. To direct someone to meet, speak, or consult with some person or group of authority, information, or aid for a second time. The specialist referred me back to the doctor who made the original diagnosis. They referred me back to their PR team when I asked them about rumors of a potential merger.
See also: back, refer

refer to (someone or something)

1. To mention or make a reference to someone or something. "What a loudmouth," said John, referring to Tom. I was referring to Paris, Texas, not Paris, France.
2. To indicate, signify, or point to someone or something. The first pie chart refers to the company's various expenditures, while the second refers to our sources of revenue. This line in the application refers to people with a weekly income of less than $500.
3. To look or turn to something as a source of information or support. Please refer to your employee handbook if you have any questions about these policies.
See also: refer

refer to (someone or something) as (someone or something)

To call someone or something by a particular name or title. Should I refer to you as Dr. Smith or Professor Smith? I think you're all old enough now that you can start calling me Nancy, instead of Mrs. Johnson. They guys in engineering have started referring to the project as "The Impossible Task."
See also: refer
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

refer someone back to someone or something

to suggest that someone go back to someone or something, such as the source. I referred the client back to the lawyer she had originally consulted. Tom referred the customer back to the manufacturer who had made the shoddy product.
See also: back, refer

refer someone to someone or something

to direct someone to someone or something; to send someone to someone or something. The front office referred me to you, and you are now referring me to someone else! They should have referred you to the personnel department.
See also: refer

refer something back to someone or something

 and refer something back
to send something back to someone or a group for action. Dr. Smith knows more about this kind of case, so I referred it back to him. They referred back all the bills.
See also: back, refer

refer to someone or something

to mention someone or something. Are you referring tome when you speak about a kind and helpful person? I was referring to the personnel department.
See also: refer
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

refer to

v.
1. To mention or reference someone or something: When you say he's clumsy, are you referring to what he did the other day? When we are in the meeting, refer to me as your colleague and not as your sister.
2. To signify something or someone directly; denote something or someone: The red line on the graph refers to the birth rate and the blue line to the death rate.
3. To pertain to something or someone; concern something or someone: I have a question referring to yesterday's lecture.
4. To direct someone to someone or something for help, support, or information: My doctor couldn't find the problem, so she referred me to a specialist.
5. To have recourse to someone or something for help, support, or information; turn to someone or something: Whenever I encounter a word that I don't know, I refer to a dictionary.
6. To direct the attention of someone to something: The instructor referred us to the third page of the manual.
See also: refer
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • refer (one) to (someone or something)
  • refer to
  • be a devil
  • be a devil!
  • know by
  • know by (something)
  • founding father
  • founding father (of something)
  • mention (someone or something) in (something)
  • mention in
References in periodicals archive
Mentioning the material constituting an object and its meaning, for example it's mentioned metal and steel but they refer to sword (Ahmanejad, 13985,60)
A review of metaphor and trope in Nafsat-al-Masdur
And, speaking as Martin does of the word "chairman," if we do an etymological study we find that it does indeed have its root in the word "chair." Its origin is in the Latin word cathedra, from which we get the word cathedral, which refers to the bishop's seat/chair, because it was from the cathedra that the bishop exercised his authority regarding the affairs of the diocese.
Dale Martin's "arsenokoites and malakos" tried and found wanting
One may refer to a major volume published in 2000 in Kuwait on the impact of environmental pollution on development in the Gulf region.
The environment in the 2002 Arab Human Development Report: a critique
An anonymous early scholium has it that the fictitious name Chrysercium refers to an actual convent situated inside Gouda: "Chrysercium fictitium nomen est; videtur innuere collegium quod est Gaudae iuxta claustrum quo naves excluduntur aut admittuntur." (79) But to which convent does this scholium refer?
Dutch proverbs and expressions in Erasmus' Adages, Colloquies, and Letters (*)
The second dimension of the conceptual model involves potential and encountered discriminations--the former refers to possible discrimination as a result of disclosing one's sexual orientation, and the latter refers to discriminatory practices encountered by the person.
Work Discrimination and Coping Strategies: Conceptual Frameworks for Counseling Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients
The court, however, apparently did not look at the full text, which used "period of assessment" as shorthand only after a long-winded reference to the "period for assessment for partnership items." All subsequent references are to "period for assessment." There is no reason to think that the legislative history is referring to any limitation period, because it never refers to the general limitation period in Sec.
Interplay of SOLs raised in TEFRA case
For specific information regarding the AICC refer their web site at URL http://www.aicc.org.
Advanced Distributed Learning
"I only refer people who can help the company," says Lee, who works out of the company's Ashburn, Virginia, office.
The price is right
* that health maintenance organizations (HMOs) refer to nursing home care recipients as members, whose value lies in their ability to join the organization, and as customers, whose value lies in providing successful satisfaction surveys;
What's in a name? Everything
If the officer believes that a young person is a first offender, then the officer can refer the case directly to the Teen Court office, bypassing the juvenile justice system entirely.
Teen Court
Promise Keepers' 1996 conference theme, "Break Down the Walls," was intended to refer to removing the racial, denominational and other barriers between Christian men.
Breaking down the wall?
There is no reason always to refer to God's people or God's Temple.
Watch your language: why we should mind our hes and shes...
I REFER to Malcolm Graham's letter (March 19) that Jesus never existed outside of Biblical accounts.
Compelling evidence that Jesus lived; letters@coventrytelegraph.net Letters letters@coventrytelegraph.net
They failed to refer to the two passages which refer to this subject.
After Fr. Michael Prieur, now Fr. Bill Ryan
This unique program allows licensed commercial real estate brokers to refer clients, friends and family members who are looking to buy, sell or rent an apartment to Dwelling Quest.
Dwelling Quest launches residential referral network