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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
It has been refurbished as a cost-effective innovation as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Andrew Jones, Space.com, 14 Jan. 2025 The play reopened the Theatre Royal Stratford East, which at the time had been refurbished. Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 9 Jan. 2025 The outlook for Russia’s defense capacity will also depend on whether its economy is running flat out and the defense sector has already maximized production or if there is still room for production to increase as new and refurbished plants and facilities come online. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2024 Remaining on their renovation list: to complete the window installation, finish the kitchen, refurbish an old drinking fountain, install more chalkboards on the laundry room doors, grow a garden. Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for refurbish 

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of refurbish was in 1611

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near refurbish

Cite this Entry

“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!