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Official vs Referee - What's the difference?

official | referee |

As nouns the difference between official and referee

is that official is an office holder invested with powers and authorities while referee is an umpire or judge; the official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.

As an adjective official

is of or pertaining to an office or public trust.

As a verb referee is

to act as a referee.

official

English

(wikipedia official)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Of or pertaining to an office or public trust.
    • official duties
  • Derived from the proper office or officer, or from the proper authority; made or communicated by virtue of authority
    • an official statement or report
  • Approved by authority; authorized.
  • sanctioned by the pharmacopoeia; appointed to be used in medicine; officinal
    • an official drug or preparation
  • Discharging an office or function.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
    • the stomach and other parts official unto nutrition
  • Relating to an office; especially, to a subordinate executive officer or attendant.
  • Relating to an ecclesiastical judge appointed by a bishop, chapter, archdeacon, etc., with charge of the spiritual jurisdiction.

    • Antonyms

    * unofficial

    Related terms

    * office * officer * officiate * officiality

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An office holder invested with powers and authorities.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2014-03-15, volume=410, issue=8878, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Turn it off , passage=If the takeover is approved, Comcast would control 20 of the top 25 cable markets, […]. Antitrust officials will need to consider Comcast’s status as a monopsony (a buyer with disproportionate power), when it comes to negotiations with programmers, whose channels it pays to carry.}}
  • A person responsible for applying the rules of a game or sport in a competition.

    • Hyponyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * fourth official

    Statistics

    *

    External links

    * * ----

    referee

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (sports) An umpire or judge; the official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game
    • 'The referee kicked Jim out of the game for fighting.'
  • A person who settles a dispute
  • A person who writes a letter of reference or provides a reference by phone call for someone
    • Your application, along with letters from three referees , should be received by January 31.
  • An expert who judges the manuscript of an article or book to decide if it should be published

    • Usage notes

    * In general, a referee moves around with the game, while an umpire stays (approximately) in one place.

    Related terms

    * ref * umpire

    Verb

    (d)
  • To act as a referee.
  • * 'He has to referee three hockey games this weekend.'
  • * 'She has to finish refereeing an article for Nature .'