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
- prerefine verb (used with object)
- refinable adjective
- refiner noun
- self-refining adjective
- superrefine verb (used with object)
- unrefining adjective
Etymology
Origin of refine
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.
It would take a month to refine the oil and deliver the diesel, which would be enough to cover demand for about two weeks, he said.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
The team plans to refine its predictions for future experiments and investigate how this framework connects to particle physics and other unanswered questions about the early universe.
From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026
The price of Brent crude has been bouncing around north of $100 a barrel, though U.S. shale blends trade at a steep discount in part because they are more costly to refine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
But the MOL refineries lack equipment to refine non-Russian oil, which has a lower sulphur content.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
To rehearse and refine the procedure, Dr. Atkinson and Dr. Emmett took human skulls home at night and practiced cutting them up.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
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.
