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

Here, appropriate internal referrals have been made. —Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026

This year, six staffers each covered multiple schools across elementary, middle and high school levels to provide therapy and referrals to Johnson County Mental Health. —Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2026

The partnership will allow the hospital to develop a new inpatient psychiatric unit, allocate nursing beds for Stanford Health Care referrals and let some Stanford Health Care surgeons use its operating rooms. —Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026

Van Cleve and Rendel have since seen referrals shift from Ostaszewski to Facebook and, more recently, to Reddit. —Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 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