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
Matt Leclercq, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2026
The car looks to be in wonderful shape, but it should be noted that while the car has totaled just over 1,000 miles since it was refurbished, its true mileage is unknown.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2026
Vader also refurbished the old neon lighting that once wound throughout Rockies.
—Idaho Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
Right now, the Angels have an inferior product in an aging stadium, and visions of a new or refurbished ballpark and surrounding development stalled after talks between the club and the city crashed on the rocks a couple of seasons ago.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 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 14 Mar. 2026.
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refurbish
verb
