refurbish

1 of 2

verb

re·​fur·​bish ri-ˈfər-bish 

refurbished; refurbishing; refurbishes

transitive verb

: to brighten or freshen up : renovate

refurbisher noun

refurbishment

ri-ˈfər-bish-mənt 

noun

refurbishment

2 of 2

noun

re·​fur·​bish·​ment "mənt 

plural -s

: the act or result of refurbishing : renewal

various kinds of adjustments and refurbishments of beliefs

—W. W. Howells

spring refurbishment of houses

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

Verb

Amazon retrieves and refurbishes the equipment after deployment so it can be used again. — Monica Sanders, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Trump announced the plan to refurbish the pool in April, saying the landmark had been the subject of complaints due to its cleanliness levels and leaking foundation. — Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 18 June 2026

Summer is the perfect time of year to refurbish and redecorate your home's exterior. — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 June 2026

Students at the Little Rock School District's Metropolitan Career-Technical Center refurbished the boxes. — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 17 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1611, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

refurbish

verb

re·​fur·​bish ri-ˈfər-bish 

: to brighten or freshen up : renovate

refurbish an old house

refurbishment

-mənt 

noun