furnish

verb

fur·​nish ˈfər-nish 

furnished; furnishing; furnishes

transitive verb

1

: to provide with what is needed

especially : to equip with furniture

The inn is beautifully furnished.

2

: supply, give

furnished food and shelter for the refugees

furnisher noun

Synonyms

• accoutre
• accouter
• equip
• fit (out)
• gird
• kit (up or out) [chiefly British]
• outfit
• provision
• rig
• supply

Choose the Right Synonym for furnish

furnish, equip, outfit, appoint, accoutre mean to supply one with what is needed.

furnish implies the provision of any or all essentials for performing a function.

a sparsely furnished apartment

equip suggests the provision of something making for efficiency in action or use.

a fully equipped kitchen

outfit implies provision of a complete list or set of articles as for a journey, an expedition, or a special occupation.

outfitted the family for a ski trip

appoint implies provision of complete and usually elegant or elaborate equipment or furnishings.

a lavishly appointed apartment

accoutre suggests the supplying of personal dress or equipment for a special activity.

fully accoutred members of a polar expedition

Examples of furnish in a Sentence

The inn is beautifully furnished.

He has enough money to furnish the apartment nicely.

We'll furnish the food for the party.

Can he furnish the information to us?

Recent Examples on the Web

Meta expects to spend as much as $40 billion in capital this year to furnish data centers and other infrastructure, an increase of more than 42 percent from 2023. —Paresh Dave, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024

Most are sitting in storage, with various plans in the works, while 2,000 total have already been donated to a pair of Detroit organizations: Life Remodeled will use them to furnish its new Anchor Detroit hub on the east side, while Rebel Nell will be using the materials to craft jewelry items. —Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 29 Oct. 2024

The property comes fully furnished, including all farm equipment. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024

With an ageless, elastic voice and exceptional 30-member band, Wonder furnished one of the best concerts LCA has seen in recent memory, undaunted by a series of technical issues that broke up the show’s first hour and a half. —Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English furnisshen, from Anglo-French furniss-, stem of furnir, fournir to complete, equip, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German frummen to further, fruma advantage — more at foremost

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

furnish

verb

fur·​nish ˈfər-nish 

1

: to provide with what is needed

the cave furnished us with shelter

especially : to provide with furniture

furnish an apartment

2

: to supply or give to someone or something

we'll furnish the food for the guests

furnisher noun