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

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

"Elton and I are profoundly affected by the uncertainty of not knowing how many times we were targeted, especially in relation to Elton's medicals", Furnish said.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026

Brought alongside six other high-profile figures, including pop icon Elton John and his husband David Furnish, it is the prince's last active legal case in his long-running crusade against the British media.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

Furnish the person on whose premises it is to be hived, with a box holding at the very least, a cubic foot of clear contents.

From Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee A Bee Keeper's Manual by Langstroth, L. L. (Lorenzo Lorraine)

Related Words

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