referee

1 of 2

noun

ref·​er·​ee ˌre-fə-ˈrē How to pronounce referee (audio)
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: a person who reviews a paper and especially a technical paper and recommends that it should or should not be published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

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
The referee doesn’t start counting until four or five seconds after Tunney is down. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023 In 2018, a white referee in New Jersey told a Black high school wrestler to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit a match. Cheyanne Mumphrey and Juan Lozano, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2023 Viral video of the wrestler having his hair cut with scissors as the crowd watched prompted the referee's suspension and spurred passage of the state's CROWN Act. Cheyanne Mumphrey and Juan Lozano, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Sep. 2023 American Athletic Conference referees will officiate this weekend’s game in Raymond James Stadium. Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 14 Sep. 2023 The first was in the 23-3 win over Indiana when a 24-yard pass from Kyle McCord to Marvin Harrison Jr. was taken off the board when the referees ruled that Harrison had stepped out of bounds. Stephen Means, cleveland, 12 Sep. 2023 In a lawsuit filed Monday, referee Pablo Fraga alleges the wrestler never should have been permitted to perform. Sarah Bahari, Dallas News, 22 Aug. 2023 Chris Evert and Barbara Potter also made the semifinals. 2017 — FIFA orders that a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal be replayed after the referee is found guilty of match manipulation and banned for life. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2023 With the Wave trying to run out the clock, Stoney booted the ball down the sideline and, smiling, tried to play it off to the referee. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2023
Verb
Trump’s ‘big lie’ fueled a new generation of social media influencers Now, Meta is eyeing ways to cut down on having to referee controversial political content on its new Twitter-like social media app, Threads. Sarah Ellison, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023 Gemini May 21-June 20 You may be called upon to referee a dispute between your friends at any time. Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2023 The 38-year-old French woman was also the first woman to referee a Ligue 1 match, the first to referee a major men's European match, and the first to officiate a men's UEFA Champions League match, CNN continues. Devika Rao, The Week, 1 Dec. 2022 Musk’s position as owner and current CEO of Twitter put him in an unusual position to host a presidential announcement, given the traditional role of social media executives in refereeing political discussion on their platforms. Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post, 24 May 2023 Don't try to recruit peers to referee your dispute -- just wait a few days until the drama settles down. Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2023 Justice Merchan’s journey to the precedent-setting case began with an assignment to referee a subpoena dispute between the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the Trump Organization in late 2020, the people familiar with the matter said. Joe Palazzolo, wsj.com, 30 Apr. 2023 Since that day, Sculli has undergone a quadruple bypass surgery and returned to refereeing. Steve Hartman, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2023 After years of refereeing these often-heated arguments, my father finally devised the one-cuts-the-other-chooses policy. Julie Giuffrida, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'referee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1883, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of referee was in 1549

Dictionary Entries Near referee

Cite this Entry

“Referee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/referee. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

referee

1 of 2 noun
ref·​er·​ee ˌref-ə-ˈrē How to pronounce referee (audio)
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 How to pronounce referee (audio)
: 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 refereeOregon Revised Statutes

More from Merriam-Webster on referee

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