1 : the act of looking at or in something for information Reference to a map will make our location clear. 2 : a relation to or concern with something I am writing in reference to your advertisement. 3 : the act or an instance of mentioning They made no references to my error.

In academics and scholarship, a reference or bibliographical reference is a piece of information provided in a footnote or bibliography of a written work such as a book, article, essay, report, oration or any other text type, specifying the written work of another person used in the creation of that text.