referral

noun

re·​fer·​ral ri-ˈfər-əl 

1

: the act, action, or an instance of referring

gave the patient a referral to a specialist

2

: one that is referred

Examples of referral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Turns out the staff never received my referral. —Jillian Wager, Glamour, 30 Mar. 2026

But peer recommendations in local Facebook groups and Reddit threads are where women are actually finding referrals in 2026. —Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026

Ricky Murray, a former senior USCIS official, told Newsweek that the evidentiary threshold for denaturalization is high and that expanding referrals would likely require lowering internal screening thresholds, even though the legal standard required by courts has not changed. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026

Patient word of mouth or personal referrals are always a good way to find a navigator as well. —Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1790, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing referral

• self-referral

Rhymes for referral

• deferral
• epidural
• postdoctoral
• predoctoral
• neral
• squirrel
• sural

Kids Definition

referral

noun

re·​fer·​ral ri-ˈfər-əl 

: the act or an instance of referring

Medical Definition

referral

noun

re·​fer·​ral ri-ˈfər-əl 

1

: the process of directing or redirecting (as a medical case or a patient) to an appropriate specialist or agency for definitive treatment

2

: an individual that is referred

Legal Definition

referral

noun

re·​fer·​ral ri-ˈfər-əl 

: the act or an instance of referring

appealed the referral of the bill to the Budget Committee