How to Use referee in a Sentence

referee

1 of 2 noun
Definition of refereenext
Synonyms for refereenext
  • Great heads-up play by him and a great call by the referees.
    — Chloe Peterson, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Aug. 2023
  • The referee has awarded a penalty kick point blank in front of the goal.
    — Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Apr. 2023
  • The White House task force on drug shortages hasn’t stepped in to referee.
    — Rachel Cohrs, STAT, 24 Aug. 2023
  • The league noted that referees can also call fouls and flops on the same play.
    — oregonlive, 11 July 2023
  • The referee fell to the ground and was also kicked during the melee after fans also stormed the pitch.
    — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 12 Dec. 2023
  • Some referees get invited to be part of the events as well.
    — Michael Marot and Tim Reynolds, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024
  • With the Wave trying to run out the clock, Stoney booted the ball down the sideline and, smiling, tried to play it off to the referee.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2023
  • With Lowry backpedaling and moving on defense, the contact is enough to draw the ire of the referee.
    — Brian Sampson, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Here’s the way Wednesday night’s crew chief, Sean Wright, explained the referees’ side of the story.
    — Brad Townsend, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023
  • As the referee slammed the mat at two minutes and 48 seconds, the West Linn section on the side of the mat exploded.
    — oregonlive, 26 Feb. 2023
  • To keep the energy from getting out of hand, have a grown-up be the referee to keep kids safe.
    — Laura Fenton, Parents, 6 Oct. 2023
  • Parents rushed to the aide of the injured athlete as the referee ushered the aggressor off the mat.
    — Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 21 Apr. 2023
  • The referees are kind of looking at the game through a certain filter, which is the way that they’re graded and judged.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2024
  • The game was briefly paused and quickly resumed, but soon after, the referee postponed the game.
    — Ryan Morik, Fox News, 4 June 2023
  • But as the referee was stopping the fight, Ray Gun accidentally hit her in the back of the head.
    — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 16 Apr. 2023
  • And in that analogy, Edwards usually has the arm the referee raises at the end of the bout.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 2 Mar. 2024
  • When the referee blew the opening whistle, pink smoke engulfed the stands and the stadium came alive.
    — Mariana Duran, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2023
  • The video ends with him being wrestled into the bleachers by the referee.
    — Annasofia Scheve, The Enquirer, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The referee stopping it in the second round and declared Greene winner by TKO.
    — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2023
  • Hatch bounces the ball three times, places it to the left side of the penalty kick circle, backs up a few steps, waits for the referee’s whistle, takes a deep breath and then strikes the ball.
    — Kelyn Soong and Alexa Juliana Ard, Anchorage Daily News, 25 July 2023
  • The referee, Kim Milton Nielsen, gave Beckham a red card.
    — Adam England, Peoplemag, 3 Oct. 2023
  • He was ejected in a 2016 game for throwing a towel at a referee.
    — Emily Fleming, Baltimore Sun, 29 Jan. 2024
  • The referee ruined the game on a red card that was not ... conscientious of what is happening in the game.
    — oregonlive, 26 July 2023
  • While Sayaka spoke to the referee, Nakajima slid behind her, grabbed her opponent by the back of the knee, and hurled her to the ground.
    — Alyson Krueger Martina Tuaty, New York Times, 12 Dec. 2023
  • In 2018, a white referee in New Jersey told a Black high school wrestler to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit a match.
    — Cheyanne Mumphrey and Juan Lozano, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2023
  • The referee waved both away, decisively; nobody had to hold their breath, to wait for V.A.R. to have its say.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2023
  • Now neither party wants a referee calling balls and strikes, or even to pretend that's the goal.
    — Nbc Universal, NBC News, 28 May 2023
  • Williams isn’t so sure today’s referees are up for those type of exchanges.
    — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 24 Mar. 2023
  • The 62-year-old Cheffers will be the Super Bowl referee for the second time in three seasons and third time overall.
    — Christopher Price, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Feb. 2023
  • But the league has invested in training its referees, and there is more oversight than there used to be.
    — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024
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referee

2 of 2 verb
  • She refereed the basketball game.
  • He has refereed for several years now.
  • Then referee Kelly Pfeifer stood on a chair and tried to give it a poke.
    — Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2022
  • But in those days, the women had to coach and referee themselves.
    — Alex Vejar, The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 June 2022
  • Many wrestlers and even referees claim Jordan knew or was told of the abuse, but didn't speak out.
    — Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2020
  • And often, these guys referee more than one game in a day.
    — Marc Bona, cleveland, 24 Jan. 2022
  • But referee Clete Blakeman and his crew decided to pick up the flag and the game was over.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2021
  • At one point, when McAvoy popped out of the box at the 3:32 mark, referee Steve Kozari had to stop play to make sure the right player was leaving.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Feb. 2021
  • On the first one, Lod was brought down inside the penalty area, but referee Alan Kelly didn't call it.
    — Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune, 19 July 2021
  • Miocic followed with a right to the jaw and a flurry as Cormier crumbled, and referee Herb Dean stepped in to call the fight.
    — Manouk Akopyan, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2019
  • Without a deal between the parties in the Mazars case, a judge would have to referee which documents the House might get.
    — Katelyn Polantz, CNN, 15 June 2021
  • But referee Ian Walsh yanked the Leafs winger off the penalty bench, putting Marchand there instead.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 7 Nov. 2021
  • But referee Shawn Hochuli explained that the timeout came too late, enabling the touchdown to stand.
    — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 22 Nov. 2021
  • O’Sullivan was allowed to start the eighth but the Cuban drove him back with another hard left and referee Benjy Esteves waved an end to the fight.
    — Brian Mahoney, ajc, 29 May 2022
  • Yet even as the fouls piled up, Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar kept his cards in his pocket.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2020
  • But there are others who do not, and Daw has had to referee some angry outbursts.
    — al, 12 July 2020
  • By then, referee Brian Forte had seen enough and blew his whistle.
    — Tim Reynolds, ajc, 6 Dec. 2022
  • After a brief delay, referee Alex Kemp announced the game was over.
    — Schuyler Dixon, Chron, 16 Jan. 2022
  • Stéphanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match.
    — Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan. 2023
  • Slaven Bilic also sent to the stands for protesting the decision to referee Mike Dean.
    — Paul Gittings, CNN, 19 Sep. 2020
  • In a pool report, referee Tony Corrente said all 11 Chargers weren’t set before the ball was snapped.
    — Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2021
  • Green complained to referee Curtis Blair and earned a technical foul, his first of the new season.
    — Ron Kroichick, SFChronicle.com, 30 Oct. 2019
  • In the pool report, referee Craig Wrolstad defended the decision not to end the play.
    — Jim McBride, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Dec. 2022
  • The heat also sparked a dispute between the Moroccan coach and referees over a lack of water breaks.
    — Scientific American, 2 July 2019
  • For the first practice with full pads, referee Clete Blakeman and his crew were in town to officiate.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2021
  • Just waking up and going to the plant, coming home, taking a shower, going to the gym, maybe referee a game some nights.
    — Christian Clark, NOLA.com, 31 Aug. 2020
  • Ortega points out the lack of a shot clock and a lack of three-men referee crews at all games, although the AIA last year made an effort to get more three-man crews to games.
    — Richard Obert, azcentral, 19 July 2019
  • In our progress roundup, one refugee’s efforts lift the entrepreneurship of others; and women leave the sidelines to referee one of the world’s top sporting events.
    — Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan. 2023
  • The Stars ice the puck immediately, but referee Rob Shick calls for a video review.
    — Houston Mitchell Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2021
  • Don't try to recruit peers to referee your dispute -- just wait a few days until the drama settles down.
    — Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'referee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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