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

Visitors support the region through a transient room tax and sales tax at local accommodations, restaurants and businesses that gets pumped back into the economy to refurbish and build trails, parks and facilities, and, of course, golf courses. —Michael Loré, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024

Boosters from that rocket have made soft touchdowns on seafaring platforms or ground pads after more than 330 launches — allowing those vehicles to be refurbished and flown again. —Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Oct. 2024

According to a news release, the food cart at the Skip comes from Chicago and has been refurbished. —Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 5 Oct. 2024

This Lenovo is affordable since it's refurbished, but that doesn't mean it's used. —Stackcommerce Team (sponsored), PCMAG, 3 Oct. 2024

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