furnish

American  

[fur-nish] / ˈfɜr nɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to supply (a house, room, etc.) with necessary furniture, carpets, appliances, etc.

   Synonyms:

   outfit, rig

2. to provide or supply (often followed bywith ).

   The delay furnished me with the time I needed.

   Synonyms:

   outfit, rig

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noun

1. paper pulp and any ingredients added to it prior to its introduction into a papermaking machine.

furnish British  

/ ˈfɜːnɪʃ /

verb

1. to provide (a house, room, etc) with furniture, carpets, etc

2. to equip with what is necessary; fit out

3. to give; supply

   the records furnished the information required

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Related Words

Furnish, appoint, equip all refer to providing something necessary. Furnish emphasizes the idea of providing necessary or customary services or appliances in living quarters: to furnish board; a room meagerly furnished with a bed, desk, and a wooden chair. Appoint, a more formal word now usually used in the past participle appointed, means to furnish completely with all requisites or accessories or in an elegant style: a well-appointed house. Equip means to supply with necessary materials or apparatus for some service, action, or undertaking; it emphasizes preparation: to equip a vessel, a soldier.

Other Word Forms

• furnisher
  noun
• overfurnish
  verb (used with object)
• prefurnish
  verb (used with object)
• refurnish
  verb (used with object)
• underfurnish
  verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of furnish

1400–50; late Middle English furnisshen, from Old French furniss-, long stem of furnir “to accomplish, furnish,” from Germanic; compare Old High German frumjan “to provide”

Explanation

If you provide something needed, you furnish it. You can furnish an answer to a question in an interview, furnish the snacks at a party, or furnish a room by filling it with couches and chairs. Just as furniture fills a room or a building, to furnish is to fill a need. Another word for furnish is "provide." A furnace furnishes heat (try saying that ten times fast). A job furnishes you with an income. Your parents furnish you with a place to live, furniture included.

Example Sentences

Elton John’s annual viewing party, hosted by John, David Furnish, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, will feature a performance by “Messy” singer and recent Grammy winner Lola Young.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

Addressing the High Court, he said he and Furnish took legal action against ANL because they were "outraged".

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

Furnish on Thursday accused The Mail of "stealing" and publishing their son Zachary's birth certificate before the couple had received a copy.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

ANL strongly denies wrongdoing, with lawyers for the publisher previously telling the court that the claims made by Furnish and Sir Elton are "unsupported by any evidence before the court and utterly baseless".

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026

Furnish a sight which, in addition to the elevation, allows for the deviation, and permits the Gun Captain in all cases to aim directly at the target.

From Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition. by United States. Navy Dept. Bureau of Ordnance

Related Words

• afford
• dispense
• hand over
• provide
• turn over