Define vs. Refer — What's the Difference?

State or describe exactly the nature, scope, or meaning of

To direct to a source for help or information

Mark out the boundary or limits of

To submit (a matter in dispute) to an authority for arbitration, decision, or examination.

To state the precise meaning of (a word or sense of a word, for example).

To direct the attention of

To describe the nature or basic qualities of; explain

To assign or attribute to; regard as originated by.

To make clear the outline or form of; delineate

To assign to or regard as belonging within a particular kind or class

To specify distinctly

To relate or pertain; concern

To give form or meaning to

To serve as a descriptor or have as a denotation

To make or write a definition.

To speak or write about something briefly or incidentally; make reference

To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly.

To turn one's attention, as in seeking information

(obsolete) To settle, decide an argument etc.

(transitive) To direct the attention of (someone toward something)

To express the essential nature of something.

(transitive) To submit to (another person or group) for consideration; to send or direct elsewhere.

To state the meaning of a word, phrase, sign, or symbol.

To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason, or ground of explanation.

To describe, explain, or make definite and clear; used to request the listener or other person to elaborate or explain more clearly his or her intended meaning of a word or expression.

(intransitive) To mention (something); to direct attention (to something)

To demark sharply the outlines or limits of an area or concept.

To make reference to; to be about; to relate to; to regard; to allude to.

(mathematics) To establish the referent of a term or notation.

(grammar) To be referential to another element in a sentence.

(programming) A kind of macro in source code that replaces one text string with another wherever it occurs.

To point to either a specific location in computer memory or to a specific object. to

To fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end.

Required to resit an examination.

To determine or clearly exhibit the boundaries of; to mark the limits of; as, to define the extent of a kingdom or country.

(journalism) A blurb on the front page of a newspaper issue or section that refers the reader to the full story inside the issue or section by listing its slug or headline and its page number.

To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly; as, the defining power of an optical instrument.

To carry or send back.

To determine the precise signification of; to fix the meaning of; to describe accurately; to explain; to expound or interpret; as, to define a word, a phrase, or a scientific term.

Hence: To send or direct away; to send or direct elsewhere, as for treatment, aid, information, decision, etc.; to make over, or pass over, to another; as, to refer a student to an author; to refer a beggar to an officer; to refer a bill to a committee; a court refers a matter of fact to a commissioner for investigation, or refers a question of law to a superior tribunal.

To determine; to decide.

To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason, or ground of explanation; as, he referred the phenomena to electrical disturbances.

Give a definition for the meaning of a word;

To have recourse; to apply; to appeal; to betake one's self; as, to refer to a dictionary.

Determine the essential quality of

To have relation or reference; to relate; to point; as, the figure refers to a footnote.

Determine the nature of;

To carry the mind or thought; to direct attention; as, the preacher referred to the late election.

Delineate the form or outline of;

To direct inquiry for information or a guarantee of any kind, as in respect to one's integrity, capacity, pecuniary ability, and the like; as, I referred to his employer for the truth of his story.

Make reference to;

Have to do with or be relevant to;

Think of, regard, or classify under a subsuming principle or with a general group or in relation to another;

Send or direct for treatment, information, or a decision;

Seek information from;

Have as a meaning;