reference work
1
3.5
- noun
- /ˈrɛfərəns wɜrk/
:
obra de referencia
- The results of this study reveal some interesting and somewhat contradictory findings about reference work in public and academic libraries.
- one-volume reference work
- standard reference work
- important reference works
Examples
-
For writing essays, using reference works like dictionaries and atlases is essential for accurate information.
-
Various reference works, such as The Encyclopaedia Britannica, were also available.
Academic text (1991) -
Write and update guidelines on reference work for practitioners.
Academic text (2012) -
There are also some of the old-fashioned reference works, just in case you really need them.
Blog text (24) -
For any student of the South, several basic reference works provide indispensable assistance.
Academic text (1993) -
The Dictionary of Braille Music Signs, a more detailed reference work, is suitable for advanced students.
Academic text (1998) -
Newspapers, magazines, textbooks, and reference works are already becoming part of the digital information stream.
Academic text (2000) -
One side of the room was lined with bookshelves full of theatrical reference works and collections of plays.
Fiction book (1990) -
Finally, in 1990, Greenwood Press, New York, initiated a fifty-state series of single-volume reference works on each state constitution.
Academic text (1993) -
A similar desire to produce a one-volume reference work for pastors underlay the publication of Conrad Porta's Pastorale Lutheri a generation later.
Academic text (2004)
Synonyms
249
1.0
A book that gives simple instructions and basic information
83
3.7
A book or source you check for facts
33
2.1
A book that gives information and advice about a place or activity
11
8.8
A book or guide that collects and summarizes important facts about a subject
8
2.6
A book you use to check facts or information
7
5.2
A source used to show where information comes from
1
4.4
A book that collects original documents and texts for study
1
3.6
A book that gives basic facts about many subjects like history and science
1
3.0
A book with many facts you can check to find correct information
1
3.7
A book or document that gives clear facts and instructions for quick checking
How Comprehensive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a book used for consultation' is directly derivable from combining 'reference' (relating to consulted information) with 'work' (a written product); the compound simply denotes a work used for reference. This compositional noun–noun pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
The name reference work comes from the idea that a reference is something you turn to and a work is a book. Imagine needing a fact and opening that book just to 'check' it, so the phrase means a book you use to look up information, not one you read from cover to cover.