refurbish

verb

re·​fur·​bish ri-ˈfər-bish How to pronounce refurbish (audio)
refurbished; refurbishing; refurbishes

transitive verb

: to brighten or freshen up : renovate
refurbisher noun
refurbishment noun

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

Recent Examples on the Web Subway Cars Makeover: Every single wheel, motor, brake, axle, wire and door on every New York City subway car gets completely refurbished every six to 12 years. Ana Ley, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Designed with the 21st-century work environment in mind, the collection is designed to be more sustainable—long-lasting products that can be refurbished, disassembled and reassembled, and used for occasions like a personal, focused area to large meetings. Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Mar. 2024 With a $190 million budget, the project aims to refurbish the 30-year-old runway. The Indianapolis Star, 8 Feb. 2024 The Russian military has been forced to refurbish and upgrade older tanks—many dating from the Cold War—to maintain its tank force. Peter Suciu, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The art may no longer be on board and the interior has been refurbished, but the three-deck atrium, with stairs spiraling around the main mast (below), remains a showstopping feature. Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 23 Feb. 2024 The new sign went up on the building Thursday and the restaurant has been closed a few days while crews continued refurbishing the interior. Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 19 Feb. 2024 Bruner went out to a suburb of Denver to inspect a parcel of land where his charity was refurbishing a park. Pat Graham, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2024 There is also a robust business in refurbishing Aeron chairs and offering them for sale. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024

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.

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of refurbish was in 1611

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Dictionary Entries Near refurbish

Cite this Entry

“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

refurbish

verb
re·​fur·​bish ri-ˈfər-bish How to pronounce refurbish (audio)
: to brighten or freshen up : renovate
refurbish an old house
refurbishment noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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