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
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 29 May 2026
Products that pass are certified refurbished, sold at up to 25% off and backed by a one-year warranty.
—Esha Chhabra, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
There’s also a fully operational farm with 1,149 arable acres and extensive infrastructure, along with equestrian facilities comprising two professional racing yards, private gallops, numerous paddocks, and a racecourse that was refurbished in 2018.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 26 May 2026
The vessels were built in 2001, but they were refurbished prior to their relaunch and underwent another round of upgrades this year.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 25 May 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 31 May. 2026.
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refurbish
verb
