referee

Plural: referees

Noun

(sports) the chief official (as in boxing or American football) who is expected to ensure fair play
someone who reads manuscripts and judges their suitability for publication
an attorney appointed by a court to investigate and report on a case
An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.
A person who settles a dispute.
A person who writes a letter of reference or provides a reference by phone call for someone. US English: reference.
An expert who judges the manuscript of an article or book to decide if it should be published.

Verb

Verb Forms: refereed, refereeing, referees

To supervise a game or contest; to act as an arbiter.
be a referee or umpire in a sports competition
evaluate professionally a colleague's work
To act as a referee.

Examples

He has to referee three hockey games this weekend.
She has to finish refereeing an article for Nature.
The players asked a neutral party to referee their heated debate over a challenged word.
The referee kicked Jim out of the game for fighting.
Your application, along with letters from three referees, should be received by January 31.

Origin / Etymology

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.

Synonyms

peer review, reader, ref, reviewer, umpire

Scrabble Score: 10

referee: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
referee: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
referee: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

referee: valid Words With Friends Word