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
Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2025
But in the midst of refurbishing the rooms, workers informed her about an unexpected discovery.
—Lori Weisberg, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2025
The school district refurbished the structure again, and installed three classrooms for GED and English lessons.
—Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Feb. 2025
The Ranch Hudson Valley has been preserved and refurbished with elegant living and dining rooms, a state-of-the-art gym inside the former ballroom, and a 5,000-square-foot Solarium, complete with indoor and outdoor pools and hot and cold plunges.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, AFAR Media, 31 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for refurbish 
Dictionary Entries Near refurbish
Cite this Entry
“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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refurbish
verb
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