refurbish
Americanverb (used with object)
-
refurbishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
refurbished,
past participle, past
-
refurbishing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
refurbishsimple
-
refurbishessimple
-
have refurbishedperfect
-
has refurbishedperfect
-
am refurbishingprogressive
-
are refurbishingprogressive
-
is refurbishingprogressive
-
have been refurbishingperfect progressive
-
has been refurbishingperfect progressive
Past
-
refurbishedsimple
-
had refurbishedperfect
-
was refurbishingprogressive
-
were refurbishingprogressive
-
had been refurbishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of refurbish
Explanation
Whether it’s a bike, an old computer, or a tennis stadium, when you refurbish something you clean it up and make it look or perform better. When you refurbish something, you generally keep the structure the same but improve its looks and possibly its functionality. For example, if you renovate a room you may make it "new again" with structural changes, such as tearing down walls and altering its original design. If you refurbish it, however, you will most likely focus on making it look better with cosmetic changes, such as painting it. The word refurbish is also often used to describe secondhand technology that has been rebuilt to restore function by replacing a component that has failed.
Vocabulary lists containing refurbish
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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The Suffix -ish, Part 2
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Undefeated
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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:
Under CEO Niccol, Starbucks has tried to refurbish its coffeehouses to make them more welcoming, and has also moved to clean up its online ordering and pickup process.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
"That equipment was not easy to come by. We purchased it from the Canadian government months ago" and worked to refurbish it "back to its former glory," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
While I fruitlessly tapped my L.A. street art connections, Valdez posted in Goodbye Pillarhenge Park: “Looking for the original artist to refurbish the bird.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
MPs and peers have been presented with proposals to refurbish the ailing Palace of Westminster and will decide what to do, in votes that are yet to be scheduled.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
This would be a time to find a sheltered place beside a stream to rest and refurbish.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
During the winter season the department typically takes a break in mosquito surveillance and refurbishes their traps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
The company then refurbishes and resells the suitcases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
But Mr Radstone, who refurbishes empty homes through his company You Spot Property, argues, that this can "push people away from wanting to engage with the council".
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2025
BBB, a privately held Alabama-based company which refurbishes car parts, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
From Reuters ● Aug. 2, 2022
He worked in the barbershop for a while, then got a job working for Free Venture, an environmentally certified nonprofit that refurbishes and recycles e-waste on-site.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
The Endeavour was being refurbished there, and he had the opportunity to go inside the crew module — the flight deck, the mid-deck and the airlock — all now visible in the new gallery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
The Haitians were paying taxes and refurbishing the downcast city; sometimes, they even refurbished houses they were only renting.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
And, Asa writes, they’ll gamble “that they can fend off competition from used and refurbished devices, a market that is also growing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Universal Studios Hollywood is on the verge of officially opening Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, and Knott’s Berry Farm this summer unveiled the refurbished Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
It’s really just a big warehouse that a bunch of families bought and refurbished a long time ago.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
The Haitians were paying taxes and refurbishing the downcast city; sometimes, they even refurbished houses they were only renting.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
These included refurbishing bikes for donations to the Age Concern Jersey charity, restoring memorial benches, growing plants and vegetables for the prison kitchen and for charity, and helping create wildlife habitats.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Part of the plan includes resurrecting dormant neighborhoods by refurbishing homes and building new ones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The leasing option could also benefit Apple’s refurbishing program, Feinseth said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
As gracious as when he presented the check for refurbishing the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart library.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
