pass by reference

A form of call-by-reference — An evaluation strategy in which the arguments to a function are evaluated first, and a pointer to the result is passed to the function.

Opposite
pass by value
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounpass by reference (uncountable)

alternative pass-by-reference

  1. alternativeuncountablecomputingAlternative form of call-by-reference.

Synonyms & antonyms

Cite this entry
APA

pass by reference. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pass%20by%20reference

MLA

“pass by reference.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pass%20by%20reference. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pass by reference,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pass%20by%20reference.

Source: pass by reference on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.