How to spell reference

hear itref·er·ence/'rɛfərəns/nounRules and real life

What it means: A source of information or citation.

In a sentence: She used a book as a reference to learn about dinosaurs.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as refrence or referance.

Same family: references, refer, referral, referee, referring. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Reference” comes from Latin roots meaning “to carry back” or “to relate.” Over time, it shifted from the idea of “bringing information back” to also mean a person’s written or spoken recommendation that “points back” to your past work and character.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

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