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
Jordan D. Brown, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
Here’s a look at 15 of the best new and recently refurbished hotels around the country.
—Katie Jackson, Robb Report, 20 June 2024
According to the presentation, the landmarked Apollo would replace and refurbish all of its seating, expand the lobby, overhaul the HVAC system, upgrade the main auditorium’s acoustics, add new signage, fix the lighting, improve bathrooms and more.
—Téa Kvetenadze, New York Daily News, 18 June 2024
The gap has only widened, as Universal Orlando Resort readies a trio of new hotels around the 2025 debut of its Epic Universe theme park, and Disney continues to refurbish and launch new accommodations for its loyal Disney Vacation Club members.
—Alena Botros, Fortune, 16 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for refurbish 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'refurbish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near refurbish
Cite this Entry
“Refurbish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refurbish. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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refurbish
verb
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