referee
/ˌɹɛf.əˈɹi/noun, verb
referee is spelled R-E-F-E-R-E-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, referee means “An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of referee is referees.
How many letters and syllables are in referee?
| Letters | 7: R-E-F-E-R-E-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.2 times per million words; the 8,784th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is referee?
Referee appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce referee?
- UK /ˌɹɛf.əˈɹiː/
- US /ˌɹɛf.əˈɹi/
Referee has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-referee.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with referee?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as referee from its last stressed vowel (/i/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of referee
- referees plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- refereeing participle, present
- refereed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does referee mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An 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.
- 2
A person who settles a dispute.
- 3
UKA 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.)
Your application, along with letters from three referees, should be received by January 31.
- 4
An expert who judges the manuscript of an article or book to decide if it should be published.
verb
- 1
To act as a referee.
He has to referee three hockey games this weekend.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate referee?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of referee: Ref., ref.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Referee in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | arbitre , arbitrer |
| German | Schiedsrichter, Schiedsrichterin, Referee , Schlichter, Schiedsmann, Ombudsmann |
| Portuguese | árbitro, juiz , arbitrar |
| Spanish | árbitro, réferi, referí, referee , arbitrar , revisor |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does referee come from?
From Middle English [Term?], from past participle of Old French referer (“to relate, to refer”), from Latin referre (“to carry back, to report, to notify”); as if refer + -ee, that is, the person to whom something is referred for consideration.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).