verb
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to restore (something) to good condition
to renovate paintings
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to revive or refresh (one's spirits, health, etc)
Usage
What does renovate mean? Renovate most commonly means to make improvements or changes to a structure, especially to the inside of a home or other kind of building. For example, a homeowner might renovate a room in their house by painting it and getting new flooring. This is often much more extensive: renovating a kitchen can involve getting new cabinets and appliances as well as new painting and new flooring, perhaps even a new layout. Some people renovate their homes themselves, while others hire a contractor to do it. The process of renovating is called renovation. The word renovation can also refer to such a project, as in This renovation is going way over budget. The word renovated can be used as an adjective to describe spaces that have been improved in this way, as in a newly renovated kitchen. More generally, renovate means to restore something to good condition—to repair or refurbish it. However, outside of the context of home improvement, the terms restore, refurbish, and repair are more often used. Renovate can also mean to reinvigorate, refresh, or revive, but this sense of the word isn’t commonly used either. Example: I’m planning to renovate the bathroom with new tile and a new vanity.
Synonym Usage
See renew.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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renovationnoun
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renovatornoun
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renovatableadjective
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renovativeadjective
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unrenovatedadjective
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unrenovativeadjective
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renovatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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renovatesimple
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renovatessimple
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have renovatedperfect
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has renovatedperfect
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am renovatingprogressive
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are renovatingprogressive
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is renovatingprogressive
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have been renovatingperfect progressive
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has been renovatingperfect progressive
Past
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renovatedsimple
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had renovatedperfect
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was renovatingprogressive
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were renovatingprogressive
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had been renovatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of renovate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (adjective), from Latin renovātus (past participle of renovāre ), equivalent to re- re- + novus new + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To renovate means to renew or rebuild so that something is in good condition. When you move into an old house, you will probably want to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms. Most usages of the word renovate revolve around buildings and architecture. During a generation change in a neighborhood, retired people move out and young families move in. They want to give new life to the old house they have bought so they renovate it by painting, redoing the floors, etc. If you renovate a historic building, you restore to its original splendor. Think of this sense of renewal if something renovates your spirits.
Vocabulary lists containing renovate
Brand Spankin' New: Words with Neo- and Nov-
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Power Prefix: re-
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The Westing Game
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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:
In 2010, they reportedly spent $28 million to extensively renovate the estate, which boasts 310 feet of private shoreline and a private boathouse.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
For six months, Kidango staff worked to renovate Toyon Early Learning Center in San José for the launch of its first classrooms in March.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Julia also shares items with friends – she has borrowed tools to renovate her home and given people plant cuttings from her garden.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Trump has also announced plans to renovate what he described as a "dilapidated, worn out" golf course in Washington called East Potomac Golf Links, saying it could host major tournaments when the work is complete.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
They force out the poisonous gases that cause fermentation of food and thoroughly clean, renovate, and restore the stomach so that it can digest food without all that excess gas.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Prices may go up as supply contracts, insurance payments flood in, and investment renovates buildings to code; prices may go down as rising premiums and maintenance fees get tacked on.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2024
Since 2022 Trixie's also had her own show on Discovery+, Trixie Motel, which follows the drag queen as she renovates a motel in California.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2024
Beyond the Carter Center, the couple became the most famous volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, the international outfit that builds, repairs and renovates homes for low-income people.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
Through this initiative, Ivorian artistic director Lemon Otto renovates external facades of older building such as Pyramid, which was completed in 1973 under the direction of the Italian architect Rinaldo Olivieri.
From Reuters ● Apr. 24, 2023
When nature renovates it is never satisfied to leave any obstruction in any part of the body.
From Philosophy of Osteopathy by A. T. (Andrew Taylor) Still
Ticketmaster said talks about taking over the center’s ticketing are on hold while the center is renovated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The property has been extensively renovated over the past 20 years by its previous owners.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
As she looks at the renovated building today, she recognizes that its walls don’t contain the “emotional residue” of the past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The area around the home was cordoned off for six days, according to The Sun, external, with one resident telling the newspaper the property was being renovated.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Maybe she’s already renovated it for the high-tea expansion and wants to show it to us?
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
So, before jumping into today’s news, don’t miss: a lively reader debate on Gen X’s affinity for bars and one couple’s journey renovating a ramshackle hut on the Irish coast into their dream home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Lavoie plans to use his money from selling some of his shares to fund a hotel he is renovating in Pontebba, Italy's northeastern Friuli region, plus a small brewery.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Ross Simmons found the water-damaged copy of “The Antiquities of Athens” while renovating a house in the seaside town of Kiama, south of Sydney.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
The median spend on renovating a primary bathroom was about $15,000.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Sapo believed in Bodega because he knew other reasons why Bodega was renovating the neighborhood.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
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.
