Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use referee in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Referee means an umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game. Example: “The referee kicked Jim out of the game for fighting.”

Examples of referee by meaning

nounAn umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.

  • The referee kicked Jim out of the game for fighting.

nounA person who writes a letter of reference or provides a reference by phone call for someone. (In the UK such a person...

  • Your application, along with letters from three referees, should be received by January 31.

verbTo act as a referee.

  • He has to referee three hockey games this weekend.
  • She has to finish refereeing an article for Nature.

More sentences with referee

  • The opposing team's forward hooked me, but the referee didn't see it, so no penalty.From the entry hook
  • The referee had to spot the pink on the blue spot.From the entry spot
  • The referee stopped play because of an obstruction by the defender.From the entry obstruction
  • In most soccer games, there are three officials: the referee and two linesmen.From the entry official
  • The referee called a personal foul, when he clotheslined the running back.From the entry clothesline
  • The referee made a bad call against the home team and the crowd went nuts.From the entry nuts
  • Keep a sharp eye on the referee during warm-up to check out his mood.From the entry warm-up
  • They were glued to the TV, as the referee called out a fifteen yard penalty for interference.From the entry interference
  • She has published four books, twenty refereed articles, and dozens of book reviews.From the entry refereed
  • The scoring of a tennis match is overseen by a single referee.From the entry scoring
  • Professor Jones is an eminent metaphysician; she has produced more than one hundred refereed publications concerning metaphysics.From the entry metaphysician
  • Being printed in an unrefereed journal isn't as prestigious as being published in a refereed academic journal.From the entry unrefereed
  • At the start of the game, the referee racks up the red balls.From the entry rack up
  • The referee ordered the boxers to break the clinch.From the entry break
  • The game is over when the referee says it is.From the entry when
  • The referee blew the whistle to end the game.From the entry end
  • The football fans chanted insults at the referee.From the entry chant
  • He spaghettied the referee when he landed on him.From the entry spaghetti
  • We were robbed! That referee was definitely one-sided.From the entry one-sided
  • The referee assessed a penalty for delaying the game.From the entry assess
  • The referee ordered his ejection from the game.From the entry ejection
  • Lexicography Illustrated isn't a refereed journal, is it?From the entry refereed
  • The referee ruled the unprecedented play fair game.From the entry fair game
  • The referee turned away the players' protests.From the entry turn away
  • The referee broke the boxers' clinch.From the entry break
  • The referees failed to spot the shirt pull from Jackson during play but after VAR review he was correctly awarded the DOGSO red card.From the entry DOGSO
  • However, the referee was in no doubt, much to the displeasure of the home fans.2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3-0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport. From the entry much
  • Despite the evident good humour of the gesture, he was booked by referee Mark Clattenburg.2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport. From the entry personal life
  • "Players are very good at simulation," said Premier League referee Graham Poll.2004 April 19, Ravi Ubha, “Inside Soccer: FIFA gives Cameroon short(s) shrift”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer. From the entry simulation
  • None of these papers had much chance of getting past a journal referee.2004, Emanuel Derman, My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance, page 14. From the entry manqués
  • This determination was subsequently confirmed by Dr Noel Pritchard, BSBI referee for Gentianaceae.1994, Phil Abbott, The Naturalist, volume 119, number 1010, Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, page 125. From the entry felwort
  • Both teams played open, attacking football and in the first thirty minutes, the referee barely blew his whistle.2014 May 10, Novy Kapadia, The Football Fanatic’s Essential Guide Part 1: Origins to 1974, Hachette UK, →ISBN, page 15. From the entry football
  • The Internet’s lack of filters or referees, while liberating, has helped birthers, truthers, antivaccinators and climate-change deniers increase their numbers.2014 August 28, Michael Grunwald, “The Second Age of Reason”, in Time. From the entry anti-vaccinator
  • Former Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber flapped at his first Delap throw but was given a soft free-kick by referee Antony Gautier.2011 September 29, Tom Rostance, “Stoke 2 - 1 Besiktas”, in BBC Sport. From the entry flap
  • Assistant referee Darren Cann signalled for a penalty and Dowd sent Herd off to the amazement of the Villa faithful.2011 October 22, Sam Sheringham, “Aston Villa 1 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport. From the entry tussle
  • Maccabi's Yoan Ziv also saw red in the second half for kicking a boot at the assistant referee.2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport. From the entry assistant referee

Meaning of referee

  1. noun An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.
  2. noun A person who settles a dispute.
  3. noun A person who writes a letter of reference or provides a reference by phone call for someone. (In the UK such a person is sometimes, and in the US the person is typically, referred to as a reference.).

Full definition of referee

Questions about referee in a sentence

How do you use referee in a sentence?
Referee is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The referee kicked Jim out of the game for fighting.”
What is a short sentence with referee?
“The referee broke the boxers' clinch.”
What does referee mean?
Referee means an umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: referee (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use referee in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/referee. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.