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ref·er·ee | \ ˌre-fə-ˈrē 
\
\Definition of referee
(Entry 1 of 2)
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b : a person who reviews a paper and especially a technical paper and recommends that it should or should not be published
2 : a sports official usually having final authority in administering a game
referee
verbrefereed; refereeing
Definition of referee (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to conduct (a match or game) as referee
2a : 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
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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.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The referee, Doug Thompson, tells WHIO the situation escalated during the second half.
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Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, "Ohio man accused of headbutting referee during middle-school girls basketball game," 22 Jan. 2020 As Denver trimmed its deficit to 100-98 with 5:16 left, Golden State players slumped their shoulders and barked at the referees, a far-too-familiar scene for a team accustomed to late collapses.
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Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, "Warriors squander 19-point lead to lose 10th straight," 16 Jan. 2020 Then one for referees, and finally, Rager had the opportunity to redesign the pickleballtournaments.com website, a major resource for players across the country.
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al, "Stay Playing: 3 local sports leagues for all ages," 8 Jan. 2020 Speaking to a pool reporter afterward, the referee, Shawn Smith, explained the no-call.
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Ben Shpigel, New York Times, "Seahawks Knock Out Carson Wentz and the Eagles," 5 Jan. 2020 Other researchers simply want to lift the cloak of anonymity generally given to referees, either throughout the review process or at the end of it.
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Christie Wilcox, Science | AAAS, "Rude paper reviews are pervasive and sometimes harmful, study finds," 12 Dec. 2019 The game works best when there is a referee, and for nearly 25 years a group of seven judges at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has done the job.
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The Economist, "The trading system’s referee is about to leave the field," 28 Nov. 2019 And much like those games, Tijuana also scored on a penalty kick that was called after the referee used Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to make the call.
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Ivan Orozco, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Another bizarre ending for Xolos in tie," 5 Oct. 2019 On the field, on the referees, on the Jaguars’ players.
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John Pana, cleveland.com, "The Cleveland Browns’ Beer Bottle Game of 2001 was (of course) the refs’ fault says comedian Brian Kenny," 29 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Many wrestlers and even referees claim Jordan knew or was told of the abuse, but didn't speak out.
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Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY, "Ex-OSU wrestler: Rep. Jordan called ‘crying, groveling, begging’ to deny sexual abuse claims," 12 Feb. 2020 PwC found its main business appeared to be in design, manufacturing, sales and gym products but received $4.4 million from Dec. 2017 to Dec. 2018 to supply football equipment including referees kit and footballs.
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Washington Post, "Financial irregularities in African soccer exposed by audit," 9 Feb. 2020 The third hire, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, came aboard full time in 2014 and remains among the half-dozen women on this season’s refereeing roster.
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Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, "Hiring women as referees would be major step for NHL," 25 Jan. 2020 Once the chaos quieted and each team retreated to its locker room, referees determined that there was still one second of the game to play and Kansas State had to go to the free throw line, De Sousa having been awarded a technical foul for taunting.
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Laine Higgins, WSJ, "Kansas, Kansas State Players Suspended After Basketball Brawl," 22 Jan. 2020 Some fans thought Borussia Dortmund had grabbed an incredible winner when a 35-yard shot flew over Neuer's head and into the back of the net moments later, but referee Rizzoli had already blown his whistle for a clear handball.
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SI.com, "Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Dortmund: A Night of History, Heynckes & Robben Making Wembley His Home," 29 Oct. 2019 During that time, Milt played paddleball, coached youth basketball, refereed middle and high school basketball and was a life-long lover of crossword puzzles.
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sun-sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 7/20," 20 July 2019 Moderator Renee Shaw refereed the discussion — dominated by crosstalk — by quizzing the two contenders on various topics leading into the Nov. 5 election.
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Phillip M. Bailey, The Courier-Journal, "Bevin and Beshear's latest debate: Promises, potshots and no President Trump," 29 Oct. 2019 Owens refereed the 2015 World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia.
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San Diego Union-Tribune, "Owens, Barnes, Garces, Peyper to referee RWC quarterfinals," 14 Oct. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'referee.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for referee
referee
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of referee
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a person who makes sure that players act according to the rules of a game or sport
referee
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of referee (Entry 2 of 2)
sports : to act as a referee in (a game or sport)
See the full definition for referee in the English Language Learners Dictionary
referee
nounref·er·ee | \ ˌre-fə-ˈrē \
\Kids Definition of referee
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a sports official with final authority for conducting a game
2 : a person who is asked to settle a disagreement
referee
verbrefereed; refereeing
Kids Definition of referee (Entry 2 of 2)
: to act or be in charge of as referee
I referee basketball games.
referee
nounref·er·ee | \ ˌre-fə-ˈrē \
\Legal Definition of referee
: 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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Time Traveler for referee
The first known use of referee was in 1549
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