refine
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities.
to refine metal, sugar, or petroleum.
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to purify from what is coarse, vulgar, or debasing; make elegant or cultured.
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to bring to a finer state or form by purifying.
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to make more fine, subtle, or precise.
to refine one's writing style.
verb (used without object)
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to become pure.
The silver is refining in the furnace.
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to become more fine, elegant, or polished.
His parents hope that his manners will refine as he gets older.
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to make fine distinctions in thought or language.
verb phrase
verb
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to make or become free from impurities, sediment, or other foreign matter; purify
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(tr) to separate (a mixture) into pure constituents, as in an oil refinery
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to make or become free from coarse characteristics; make or become elegant or polished
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to remove (something impure or extraneous)
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(intr; often foll by on or upon) to enlarge or improve (upon) by making subtle or fine distinctions
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(tr) to make (language) more subtle or polished
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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refinernoun
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prerefineverb (used with object)
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superrefineverb (used with object)
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refinableadjective
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self-refiningadjective
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unrefiningadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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refinesimple
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refinessimple
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have refinedperfect
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has refinedperfect
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am refiningprogressive
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are refiningprogressive
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is refiningprogressive
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have been refiningperfect progressive
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has been refiningperfect progressive
Past
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refinedsimple
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had refinedperfect
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was refiningprogressive
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were refiningprogressive
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had been refiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of refine
Explanation
When you refine something, you make it better. Whether it's sugar or an essay, refining it requires fixing its flaws. You may think you created a masterpiece on the first try. But there's always room to refine. More than just working out the kinks, refining something means you're going to fine tune it, hone it to perfection, and make it more precise. In scientific terms, to refine something means to reduce it down to a pure state. At the dinner table, you can please grandma by refining your manners.
Vocabulary lists containing refine
Hatchet
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Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans
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"On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley
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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.
See Examples For:
The researchers now plan to refine the method so the system can cover an even broader viewing range.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Verstappen's pace came despite Red Bull reverting to a standard rear wing while they refine the the 'flip-flop' or 'somersault' design that caused high-speed crashes for the Dutchman in the past two races.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Marcus first published his conclusions on “electron transfer reactions” in 1956 and continued to refine them over the next nine years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
There are still many questions around the project in Kenya, not least where it will source the oil to refine and how it will be financed.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
As they conquered lands around the Mediterranean Sea, they spread word of how to grow, mill, and refine the sweet reed.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
The creative team then reviews and refines multiple AI-generated versions of a scene before deciding which expressions and line readings best serve the story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Today, China refines more than 90% of the world’s rare earths, the International Energy Agency says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
It mines bauxite, the raw material for aluminum, refines it into alumina powder, and operates smelters that turn alumina to finished aluminum.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Elon Musk said Thursday that Tesla’s Optimus robots should be available to the public by the end of next year, after the company refines the technology.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026
A race builds itself for a million years, refines itself, erects cities like those out there, does everything it can to give itself respect and beauty, and then it dies.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
It also reveals that early humans in Britain were carefully selecting rare materials and using them to produce and maintain highly refined tools hundreds of thousands of years ago.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
With the additional funds, Dangote said the company is aiming to reduce "Africa's reliance on imported refined products" and strengthen the "continent's energy security."
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The vast majority of these releases were of crude oil rather than refined fuel, according to data from the IEA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Yet I’ve spared no expense on what I find a more refined sound system in my Volvo, which I now use more and more for audio books than music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
“We were behind the glass saying, ‘There isn’t going to be an aesthetically refined prototype!’”
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Nigeria's Dangote mega-refinery Thursday said it has secured $2.5 billion in investment from private investors to fund its expansion plans, as it widens its refining business to east Africa.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Both Urbanova and Ingbretson are fuelled by the love of competing and train all year - lifting weights, jogging, doing other cardio and refining their axe skills.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Aipa was the grandson of iconic shaper Ben Aipa, known for pioneering surfboard styles such as the sting and refining the design of the swallowtail in the 1970s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
One reason: Shut-in crude oil production can be resumed quickly, but turning refining capacity back on takes longer, according to S&P Global’s Smith.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
So I had the outlines of a plan, and I think I went on refining it for several days before it occurred to me it wasn’t actually necessary to carry out all the steps.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
