refinish
Americanverb (used with object)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of refinish
Explanation
To refinish something is to repair or replace its surface. You might decide to refinish the scratched and worn wood floors in your house, for example. The surfaces of wooden things, like furniture and floors, can become dull and scratched over time, or may even be painted. If you wanted to remove old paint from an oak table and make it gleam, you'd refinish it — sanding the surface, staining it, and possibly coating it with a layer of protective wax. Refinish, "apply a new finish to," is based in the finish meaning "surface appearance of a material or object."
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.
“What’s really exciting in this field is when the model picks formulations that you intuitively would not have,” said Daniel Connor, the company’s global technical director for automotive refinish coatings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
Forgo deep-cleaning unless you’re prepared to refinish the cabinets.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2022
For a less intensive remodel, you can refinish an existing floor, which gets the same benefits from the cool, dry air and costs about $1,800.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2022
Mr Coggin and his colleagues can also repaint legwork on desks or cut them down to a smaller size and refinish them.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2022
The general helped me refinish the deck and paint the walls.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
