burnish

1 of 3

verb

bur·​nish ˈbər-nish 

burnished; burnishing; burnishes

transitive verb

1

a

: to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing

burnish leather

burnishing his sword

b

: polish sense 3

attempting to burnish her image

2

: to rub (a material) with a tool for compacting or smoothing or for turning an edge

pottery with a smooth burnished surface

burnisher noun

burnishing adjective or noun

burnish

2 of 3

noun (1)

: luster, gloss

burnisher

3 of 3

noun (2)

bur·​nish·​er

ˈbər-ni-shər

plural -s

1

: a worker employed in burnishing

a shoe burnisher

2

: a tool, variously shaped, with a hard smooth rounded end or surface (as of steel, ivory, or agate) used in smoothing, polishing, turning an edge, or other manipulation by rubbing

Synonyms of burnish

Verb

• rub
• polish
• smooth
• shine

Noun (1)

• gleam
• glow
• shine
• glint
• glare
• sheen
• polish
• gloss
• luster

Examples of burnish in a Sentence

Verb

burnished the floor of the ballroom to a soft luster

Noun (1)

after some much-needed polishing, the silver tea set had a brilliant burnish

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Ruto has burnished his ties with Western leaders. — semafor.com, 19 June 2026

The last step is to burnish the wood with a small torch and then apply a top coat. — Olivia Young, CBS News, 19 June 2026

Noun

Buchanan noted the hard bake, showing approval for the solid burnish on the outer layer. — Mario Cortez, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Mar. 2026

Fretting that the fabled bash was losing its luster, Guiducci ordered up some major burnishes. — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun (1)

Middle English burnischen, from Anglo-French burniss-, stem of burnir, alteration of Old French brunir, literally, to make brown, from brun

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (1)

1646, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for burnish

• furnish

Kids Definition

burnish

verb

bur·​nish

ˈbər-nish

: to make shiny especially by rubbing : polish

burnisher noun