to ref
5
6.8
To act as the official who makes sure players follow the rules in a sports game
- verb
- /rɛf/
- Informal
:
arbitrar
- The coach asked me to ref the upcoming soccer match on Saturday.
Examples
-
Come on, ref!
-
Break it up, ref.
-
Come on, ref, break it up!
Academic text (2007) -
- Take the point, ref!
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Oh, and you chose to ref and you both chose wrong.
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-I can't ref the next games, by the way.
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Why don't you let him play, ref?
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Oh, come on, ref.
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MAN: Let's go, ref.
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Hard-fought game shouldn't be decided by someone who isn't even good enough to ref a low-end bowl game.
Blog text (28)
Synonyms
to judge
vsto ref
117
2.3
To decide the winner in a contest or event
is about managing play within a match rather than deciding final results
to umpire
vsto ref
2
3.4
To make decisions during a game to make sure rules are followed
is about acting as the match official not focusing on rule judgments
6.3
To watch a baseball game and decide if plays follow the rules
is more about performing neutral match duties rather than active enforcement
Surface Forms
Etymology
Ref as a verb comes from the noun referee, which means 'to act as the referee'. So to ref a match is to do the job of the official who enforces the rules.