refer to somebody
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: refer to something
Meaning · English
talk or write about someone
Literally: direct attention to
Register: neutral
Examples
The teacher referred to the student who answered correctly
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR A2); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “refer to somebody” mean?
talk or write about someone Literally: direct attention to
Is “refer to somebody” formal or informal?
refer to somebody is generally neutral.