reference book

noun — 2 senses

reference book

noun
1

A book providing factual information.

  • The Red Book is the standard reference book for those naming inorganic chemical compounds.
2

A book that can be consulted in the library but cannot be borrowed.

  • I wanted to take out the encyclopedia, but the librarian said it was a reference book.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.