refurbish

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

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

Temporary structures were used to turn historic landmarks into venues—beach volleyball was played by the Eiffel Tower, judo bouts happened at the Champ de Mars—and existing facilities were refurbished and reused. —The Week Us, TheWeek, 9 Feb. 2026

Now, it has been lightly refurbished and prepped for sale. —Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 9 Feb. 2026

Per Scholas was launched to bridge the digital divide, training people in how to refurbish computers from Midtown Manhattan firms for schools, nonprofits, and families in the South Bronx. —Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026

The museum also set up an Amazon Wish List in 2025 in which supporters were asked to purchase items that could be used to refurbish the Discovery Room for children. —Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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