referee

1 of 2

noun

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: a person who reviews a paper and especially a technical paper and recommends that it should or should not be published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

referee

2 of 2

verb

refereed; refereeing

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to act as a referee

Synonyms

Noun

• adjudicator
• arbiter
• arbitrator
• judge
• umpire

Verb

• adjudge
• adjudicate
• arbitrate
• decide
• determine
• judge
• rule (on)
• settle
• umpire

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

Noun

Immediately after Demopoulos was forced to tap out from Amorim's armbar, the former complained to the referee. —Brian Mazique, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024

The other half of the GUTS team was Mike O'Malley, the host to Quirk's referee. —Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2024

Verb

Only 60% of boys’ football officials referee both sports. —Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2024

Disputes like this aren’t uncommon where defendants could be tried in multiple jurisdictions and require Justice Department headquarters to referee the competition. —Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 1 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1883, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids 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