refurbish
verb
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As seems proper given how English prefixes work, before you could refurbish something you could furbish it. That shorter word was borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century from Anglo-French as furbisshen; it shares a distant relative with the Old High German verb furben, meaning "to polish." In its earliest uses furbish also meant "to polish," but it developed an extended sense of "to renovate" shortly before English speakers created refurbish with the same meaning in the 17th century. These days refurbish is the more common of the two words, although furbish does continue to be used.
Examples of refurbish in a Sentence
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
This year, the Alonso Foundation plans to use any money won to refurbish youth baseball fields.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 8 July 2024
The state has refurbished Massachusetts' Bay State Correctional Center, a former minimum-security dorm-like facility, which opened last week and can accommodate 140 migrants and homeless families, or about 450 people.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 28 June 2024
After apprenticing with a long-time rehabber, Myer has refurbished hundreds of homes.
—Kevin Hardy, Kansas City Star, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for refurbish 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'refurbish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near refurbish
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“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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refurbish
verb
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