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

Grenell, who spent the Biden years developing luxury tourist sites in Serbia and Albania, suggested at a recent meeting that Trump’s plans to beautify the center were advancing; a proposal was under way to refurbish the lounges in front of the main theatres. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2025

Modular concepts can also be used to refurbish or redesign the interiors of existing buildings. —Jamie Hailstone, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025

The offering, previously only available in Europe and Japan, buys back unused (but still usable) aluminum cases and other luggage and refurbishes them for a new generation of travelers. —Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 25 Mar. 2025

Hialeah is moving forward with plans to refurbish a more than 60-year-old pedestrian bridge that connects to Miami Springs. —Theo Karantsalis, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2025

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