referee

B1 Topic:Sports & Fitness

US /ˌɹɛfəˈɹiː/ UK /ˌɹɛf.əˈɹiː/ See IPA manual

Freq #10399

Meanings

1

noun
An official who makes sure the rules are followed in a sport.

The referee sent Jim off for fighting.
2

verb
To act as the official in charge of a game or match.

He has to referee three hockey games this weekend.
3

noun
A person who provides a reference about someone applying for a job.

Your application, along with letters from three referees, is due by January 31.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an official who makes sure... ref

2 verb · to act as the official in... umpire

Word family

Forms refereedrefereeingreferees

Derived forms refrefereeship

Related forms referral referrer

Etymology

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.

*bʰer- Proto-Indo-European referer Old French refero Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Sports & Fitness

External links

# referee

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˌɹɛfəˈɹiː/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɹɛf.əˈɹiː/
**Frequency rank:** 10399

## Meanings
1. An official who makes sure the rules are followed in a sport.
2. To act as the official in charge of a game or match.
3. A person who provides a reference about someone applying for a job.

## Examples
- The referee sent Jim off for fighting.
- He has to referee three hockey games this weekend.
- Your application, along with letters from three referees, is due by January 31.

## Derived Forms
- ref
- refereeship

## Related Forms
- referral
- referrer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰer-
- Root: referer
- Root: refero
- Affix: -ee - one who receives the action

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Referee comes 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. Modern senses include an official who makes sure the rules are followed in a sport. and to act as the official in charge of a game or match.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as ref and refereeship and related forms such as referral and referrer.

## Topics
- Sports & Fitness

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