a steady flow (usually from natural causes); "the raft floated downstream on the current"; "he felt a stream of air"
a flow of electricity through a conductor; "the current was measured in amperes"
occurring in or belonging to the present time; "current events"; "the current topic"; "current negotiations"; "current psychoanalytic theories"; "the ship's current position"
the position of greatest importance or advancement; the leading position in any movement or field; "the Cotswolds were once at the forefront of woollen manufacturing in England"; "the idea of motion was always to the forefront of his mind and central to his philosophy"
the act of referring or consulting; "reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"
the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; "the extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos"
the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to; "he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes"
a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation"