An anaphoric construction is a construction in which a referent is not expressed by a full nominal but in such a way that the interpretation must rely on another expression (the antecedent) in the context.
Anaphoric constructions are sometimes contrasted with "cataphoric constructions" (or "cataphoric uses" of anaphoric forms) in which the antecedent follows the expression in which a referent is not expressed fully. However, "anaphora" is more often used more broadly, to encompass both situations. (For the broader sense, some authors use "endophora." To make the narrower sense clear, one could use "exanaphora", as "exana-" means 'again'.)
Anaphoric constructions often involve [anaphoric forms]°, but constructions such as [control constructions]° in which there need not be any form are also anaphoric.
Anaphoric constructions cannot be defined in terms of "coreference of an expression with its antecedent" because full nominals may be coreferential with full nominals in another clause (e.g. "My mother was a teacher. The school children loved my mother.")