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
Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 20 June 2025
The party happened at the home of Albert, and after O’Keefe’s death, the Alberts rehomed their dog Chloe — who the defense claims bit O’Keefe — and refurbished their basement before selling their home at a loss.
—Michael Casey, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2025
That’s because the Crystal Symphony was extensively refurbished and relaunched in 2023, with a look and feel that’s both contemporary and throwback.
—Fran Golden, Travel + Leisure, 8 June 2025
On Wednesday, the board of the state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) approved the plan, which would refurbish Grand Central Terminal and upgrade parts of the rail system that are more than 100 years old.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for refurbish
Cite this Entry
“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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refurbish
verb
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