refurbish
verb
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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
Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2025
While this device has been refurbished, it's been restored to near-mint condition, meaning there are no scratches on its display, and has a minimum of 80% battery health.
—Stackcommerce Team (sponsored), PC Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
Apple is selling these phones refurbished in some European Apple stores.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
Weighing just over three pounds, this refurbished MacBook Pro is perfect for slipping into a backpack or carry-on for those on-the-go work sessions or road trips.
—New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refurbish
Cite this Entry
“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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refurbish
verb
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