Dereference

//dɪˈɹɛfɹəns// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The act by which something is dereferenced.
"Either each dereference must use a complicated DCAS protocol, or each pointer must include a version number that is managed on each modification and checked on each dereference, or storage management must be tightly coupled […]"

Verb

1
To access the value or object located in a memory location addressed by a pointer or another value interpreted as such; to access a value being referenced by something else.
"Attempting to dereference a null pointer often results in a crash."
2
To operate on the file or directory pointed to by a symbolic link, rather than on the link itself.
"With the find command, any symbolic links appearing after -follow will be dereferenced."
3
To dissolve a symbolic link by replacing it with a copy of its target.

Synonyms

Example

"Attempting to dereference a null pointer often results in a crash."

Etymology

From de- + reference.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.