Refer vs. Referral — What's the Difference?

To direct to a source for help or information

To direct to a source for help or information

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

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

To direct the attention of

To direct the attention of

To assign or attribute to; regard as originated by.

To assign or attribute to; regard as originated by.

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

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

To relate or pertain; concern

To relate or pertain; concern

To serve as a descriptor or have as a denotation

To serve as a descriptor or have as a denotation

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

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

To turn one's attention, as in seeking information

To turn one's attention, as in seeking information

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

The act or process of transferring someone or something to another, of sending by reference, or referring.

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

(slang) A document used by schools detailing some form of a student's misbehavior and listing the actions taken before and after the student's receipt of the referral.

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.

A recommendation to consult the (professional) person referred to;

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

The act of referring (as forwarding an applicant for employment or referring a matter to an appropriate agency)

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

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

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

Required to resit an examination.

(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 carry or send back.

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 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.

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

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

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

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;