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 According to a news release, the food cart at the Skip comes from Chicago and has been refurbished. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 5 Oct. 2024 This Lenovo is affordable since it's refurbished, but that doesn't mean it's used. Stackcommerce Team (sponsored), PCMAG, 3 Oct. 2024 The plant's owner, Constellation Energy, promises to spend $1.6 billion refurbishing the reactor, hoping to restart it by 2028 with regulatory approval. Theara Coleman, theweek, 24 Sep. 2024 According to Constellation, work will have to be done to refurbish the turbine, generator, main power transformer, and coolant and control systems. David Szondy, New Atlas, 22 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for refurbish 

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 12 Oct. 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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