refurbish
verb
Did you know?
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
Idaho Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
Right now, the Angels have an inferior product in an aging stadium, and visions of a new or refurbished ballpark and surrounding development stalled after talks between the club and the city crashed on the rocks a couple of seasons ago.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 2026
During the winter season the department typically takes a break in mosquito surveillance and refurbishes their traps.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026
The building has a new landlord who has been working with the center to completely refurbish the space.
—Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for refurbish
Cite this Entry
“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
refurbish
verb
