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

City and Police Support At the city level, Austin police say their Victim Services Division helps survivors of crime and trauma with crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, criminal justice support, referrals and assistance applying for crime victims’ compensation. —Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026

The Mission hired caseworkers in both districts to take referrals from school staff for families who are in crisis but haven't been evicted yet. —Libby Smith, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. —Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 6 Mar. 2026

Over the last six months of that year, teams connected 138 people to services, including 15 enrollments in drug treatment and detox programs and 51 referrals to interim housing, while administering Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, 26 times. —Teresa Liu, Daily News, 6 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