cite

present singular third person cites · participle present citing · participle past cited · past cited

1. transitiveTo quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another.

   WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.

   2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18

2. transitiveTo mention; to make mention of.

   Until then, the Sunak administration remains a study in ineffectuality on multiple fronts, leading Goldsmith to cite, not unreasonably, “a kind of paralysis”.

   2023 June 30, Marina Hyde, “The tide is coming in fast on Rishi Sunak – and it’s full of sewage”, in The Guardian

   1. transitiveTo mention by way of explanation.

      Citing the risk involved with being out as a gay person and a union activist while simultaneously dealing with racism, Susan notes that there are no out gays or lesbians of color in her local, though its membership is about 80 percent people of color.

      1990 February 4, Pam Mitchell, “Pro-Union And Queer”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 18

      1 more example

      Jonathan Hill, professor of international relations in the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, points to ongoing social unrest among rural youths in Morocco as another key reason why the law was passed. He cites the 2011 Arab Spring as an indicator of where such behaviour might lead if left unchecked.

      2018 October 26, Chris Fitch, “Reintroduction of military conscription in Morocco”, in Geographical, archived from the original on 27 Feb 2021

3. To list the source(s) from which one took information, words or literary or verbal context.

   This Act may be cited as the Boiler Explosions Act, 1882.

   1882 July 12, chapter 22, in Boiler Explosions Act, 1882, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2026, page 1

4. transitivelawTo summon officially or authoritatively to appear in court.

   According to the tribe’s chairman, rangers cited five of the demonstrators, who had traveled to Nevada from New York, Washington, California and the European country of Malta. The chairman did not say what they were cited for.

   2023 August 29, “Tribal ranger draws weapon on climate activists blocking road to Burning Man; conduct under review”, in AP News

plural cites

1. informalA citation.

   We used the number of cites as a rough measure of the significance of each published paper.