as in umpire
a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy
served as the unofficial referee in disputes over the family business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to decide
to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute)
their father usually ends up refereeing any disputes concerning use of the big TV
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of referee
Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner accused Trump of working the referees.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 1 Aug. 2025
Ben Morse, CNN Money, 23 June 2025
Ponder, a retiree from Oklahoma who referees pickleball games, met Grubbs in 2017 at an international tournament in Spain.
—Alexandria Burris, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for referee
Noun
Some of the standout moments of Kross’s biggest singles match of his main roster career were:
After a slow start to the match and a quiet crowd early on, Scarlett distracted the referee as Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a very close two-count.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner accused Trump of working the referees.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 1 Aug. 2025
Verb
The two players came close to one another before Rüdiger spoke directly to referee Ramon Abatti and pointed towards Cabral.
After separating the players, Abatti was seen crossing his arms in what is part of FIFA’s protocol against racist abuse.
—Ben Morse, CNN Money, 23 June 2025
Ponder, a retiree from Oklahoma who referees pickleball games, met Grubbs in 2017 at an international tournament in Spain.
—Alexandria Burris, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for referee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for referee
Noun
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She’s scheduled to be a base umpire for the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins game on Saturday.—
Kim Elsesser,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Because the audio wasn’t working, chair umpire Fergus Murphy called it a fault.—
Lukas Weese,
New York Times,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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When those plans fell apart, White decided to go fishing anyway.—
David Chiu,
People.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Despite discussion on the law itself, the school board refrained from taking a stance for or against the proposal, instead deciding to seek guidance from Kentucky's attorney general on how best to enact policies to evaluate offers like the one from LifeWise.—
Keely Doll,
The Courier-Journal,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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So far during Trump’s second term, the Justices have made a string of emergency rulings in the President’s favor, blessing the chaos that Trump himself unleashed, and with little regard for the work of lower-court judges.—
Cristian Farias,
New Yorker,
6 Aug. 2025
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The Trump administration’s decision to override the opinion of the New Jersey judges and keep Habba on as U.S. attorney has sparked new legal challenges.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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All of these should be allowed to settle almost to the bottom before the retrieve is begun.—
Anthony A. Ciuffa,
Outdoor Life,
7 Aug. 2025
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While the pair have been settled in Los Angeles together for years now, Jonathan opened up to PEOPLE about the possibility of relocating out to the country.—
Natalia Senanayake,
People.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The first is controlling confidentiality by determining who can see or read data.—
Judith Magyar,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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Whether farmers use the high prices as an opportunity to expand their herds or instead seek to profit from selling off cows for slaughter will determine whether the U.S. cattle herd continues to shrink, Nelson wrote.—
Reia Li,
AZCentral.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But ethics advocates say the law is not strong enough and does not adjudicate conflict of interest concerns.—
Mychael Schnell,
The Hill,
30 July 2025
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Its platform pulls data from electronic medical records at hospitals and clinics, cleans and adjudicates the clinical notes and then returns them to the health care organizations for cancer research and drug development purposes.—
Alexis Kayser,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 July 2025
Verb
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Additionally, the terms state that robotaxis shouldn’t be used to provide emergency transportation and that riders in the pilot program will need to arbitrate any dispute.—
Alan Ohnsman,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
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Given his often conflicting obligations to cyberspace operations under Title 10 of the U.S. Code and signals intelligence under Title 50, he is compelled to arbitrate in favor of one or the other, rather than advocate on behalf of either side.—
James G. Stavridis,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Oct. 2013
Cite this Entry
“Referee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/referee. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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