furnish

American  

[fur-nish] / ˈfɜr nɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

furnishes, present (3rd person singular) furnished, past participle, past furnishing present participle

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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Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

• furnisher
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• furnishing
  present
• furnished
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• furnish
  simple
• furnishes
  simple
• have furnished
  perfect
• has furnished
  perfect
• am furnishing
  progressive
• are furnishing
  progressive
• is furnishing
  progressive
• have been furnishing
  perfect progressive
• has been furnishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• furnished
  simple
• had furnished
  perfect
• was furnishing
  progressive
• were furnishing
  progressive
• had been furnishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will furnish
  simple
• will have furnished
  perfect
• will be furnishing
  progressive
• will have been furnishing
  perfect progressive

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

“People buy homes from one company, finance them through another, furnish them through a third and renovate them with someone else,” Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Marcus Lemonis said in a statement.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

And even if brokerage firms furnish consolidated 1099 tax statements in February, corrected versions may be issued later, delaying the accurate completion of returns.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

Alison-Madueke denied it was to furnish a house she was having built in Nigeria, saying most of the items were not for her.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

In 2021, more than a year after I had stopped seeing clients in person in rented offices due to the pandemic, I had the opportunity to furnish and decorate my own home office.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

They also furnish quantities of bait for fishermen.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

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