furbish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to restore to freshness of appearance or good condition (often followed by up).
to furbish a run-down neighborhood; to furbish up one's command of a foreign language.
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to polish.
verb
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to make bright by polishing; burnish
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(often foll by up) to improve the appearance or condition of; renovate; restore
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of furbish
1350–1400; Middle English furbishen < Middle French forbiss-, long stem of forbir to polish, clean < Germanic; compare Old High German furban
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Though they’re programmed to start speaking in Furbish — a language that was inspired by the Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Hebrew that Furby co-creator David Hampton learned during his time in the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2023
The Furbish doesn’t quite track, I will say.
From Slate • Apr. 30, 2021
That seems to have happened to mine; thanks to the companion iPhone app that translates Furbish to English, I gathered that a lot of her responses include the phrase “OMG!”
From Slate • Dec. 14, 2012
Because the plant, named for Botanist Kate Furbish, was not known to exist anywhere else, the dam location could conceivably have been ruled out under the 1973 Endangered Species Act.
From Time Magazine Archive
I suspect that you will find him where you are going to, Mr Furbish, he’s got that far by this time.”
From The Poacher Joseph Rushbrook by Marryat, Frederick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
