Ref.
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | Reference |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Writing & Everyday |
| Also written | ref |
Ref. has two meanings. It stands for Reference (email and office) or Unclear pronoun reference (proofreading and correction mark).
Meanings of Ref. at a glance
| # | Ref. stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reference | Writing & Everyday › Email and Office |
| 2 | Unclear pronoun reference | Writing & Everyday › Proofreading and Correction Mark |
1. Reference
Writing & Everyday · Email and Office Abbreviations
Labels a reference number or code that identifies a file, order, case or earlier letter, so replies can be matched to the right record. Business letters often show "Our ref." and "Your ref." near the top.
Example: Please quote our ref. HR/2024/117 in all correspondence about your application.
British and Commonwealth letters traditionally place "Our ref:" and "Your ref:" lines beneath the letterhead. Order confirmations, insurance claims and booking emails use "Ref." or "Ref. no." for the same purpose. In sports, "ref" is an unrelated clipping of "referee," and in academic writing "refs" are references in a bibliography.
2. Unclear pronoun reference (ref)
Writing & Everyday · Proofreading and Correction Mark Abbreviations
Signals a pronoun whose antecedent is missing, ambiguous or too far away, as in "When Ana met Maria, she was nervous." The reader cannot tell which noun the pronoun replaces.
Example: My draft had ref circled above "This shows that," since "this" didn't point to any clear noun.
Vague "this," "that," "it" and "which" are frequent triggers, and adding a noun after "this" ("This delay shows...") usually fixes the problem. Some teachers write "pn ref" or "vague ref." The error is especially common in research papers that summarize several sources in a row.
Related abbreviations
More email and office abbreviations
- POC – Point of contact
- PTO – Paid time off
- QQ – Quick question
- RE – Reply (email subject prefix)
- Rgds – Regards
- RSVP – Répondez s'il vous plaît (please reply)
- RTO – Return to office
- SME – Subject-matter expert
See all 60 email and office abbreviations →