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
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Proctor, Freeling or even Blake Miller (Clemson) would help GM Brad Holmes refurbish his once powerful O-line.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026
One is the more prominent location for the 1965 Alexander Calder mobile, now outside the new cafe and refurbished.
—David Allen, Daily News, 23 Apr. 2026
In the meantime, city staff will examine other options, including structural analyses on existing buildings up for sale to possibly refurbish into a city hall.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 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 27 Apr. 2026.
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refurbish
verb
