ref·er·ee
ˌre-fə-ˈrē 
1
: one to whom a thing is referred: such as
a
: a person to whom a legal matter is referred for investigation and report or for settlement
b
: a person who reviews a paper and especially a technical paper and recommends that it should or should not be published
c
chiefly British
: reference sense 4a
2
: a sports official usually having final authority in administering a game
refereed; refereeing
1
: to conduct (a match or game) as referee
2
a
: to arbitrate (something, such as a legal matter) as a judge or third party
b
: to review (something, such as a technical paper) before publication
: to act as a referee
Examples of referee in a Sentence
Noun
served as the unofficial referee in disputes over the family business
Verb
She refereed the basketball game.
He has refereed for several years now.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tim Spiers, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Artan was named Africa’s top male referee in 2025 and was chosen by the Confederation of African Football to take part in this year’s World Cup.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Graham Scott, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Clark later walked over to referee Jason Alabanza and appeared to engage in a verbal spat.
—Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for referee
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Noun
The country’s ministry of culture and sports set out a series of rules and regulations which included no pyro, no face paint and no shouting of words that could be degrading towards any person on the field, not even the referee.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Artan was named Africa’s top male referee in 2025 and was chosen by the Confederation of African Football to take part in this year’s World Cup.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Verb
Its scorecard overall suggests few clubs can blame refereeing errors for their final league placing, but the title race may have taken a different course.
—Graham Scott, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Clark later walked over to referee Jason Alabanza and appeared to engage in a verbal spat.
—Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for referee
Cite this Entry
“Referee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/referee. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
referee
1 of 2 noun
ref·er·ee
ˌref-ə-ˈrē
1
: a person to whom something that is to be investigated or decided is referred
2
: a sports official usually having final authority in conducting a game
referee
2 of 2 verb
refereed; refereeing
: to conduct as a referee
Legal Definition
referee
noun
ref·er·ee
ˌre-fə-ˈrē
: an officer appointed by a court or quasi-judicial body (as a workers' compensation board) to investigate a case, report findings, and often to make orders subject to review
the board may affirm, reverse, modify or supplement the order of the referee—Oregon Revised Statutes
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