https://docs.mongodb.org/manual/reference/database-references/"DBRefs are references from one document to another using the value of the first document ’ s _id field, collection name, and, optionally, its database name. By including these names, DBRefs allow documents located in multiple collections to be more easily linked with documents from a single collection.
To resolve DBRefs, your application must perform additional queries to return the referenced documents. Many drivers have helper methods that form the query for the DBRef automatically. The drivers [1] do not automatically resolve DBRefs into documents.
DBRefs provide a common format and type to represent relationships among documents. The DBRef format also provides common semantics for representing links between documents if your database must interact with multiple frameworks and tools."
RTFM before u ask