refresh
/ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/verb, noun
refresh is spelled R-E-F-R-E-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, refresh means “To renew or revitalize” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in refresh?
| Letters | 7: R-E-F-R-E-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.5 times per million words; the 12,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is refresh?
Refresh appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce refresh?
- UK /ɹiˈfɹɛʃ/
- US /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/
- /ˈrifrɛʃ/
Refresh has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-refresh.wav, En-us-refresh.ogg, En-us-refresh.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with refresh?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as refresh from its last stressed vowel (/ɛʃ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: fresher.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of refresh
- refreshes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- refreshing participle, present
- refreshed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does refresh mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To renew or revitalize.
Sleep refreshes the body and the mind.
- 2
To become fresh again; to be revitalized.
- 3
To reload (a document, especially a webpage) and show any new changes.
- 4
To cause (a web browser or similar software) to refresh its display.
- 5
To perform the periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
- 6
colloquialdatedTo take refreshment; to eat or drink.
noun
- 1
The periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
- 2
The update of a display (in a web browser or similar software) to show the latest version of the data.
- 3
The process of modernizing something.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Refresh in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | revigorer, rafraîchir |
| German | erfrischen, erquicken, auffrischen , aktualisieren, neu laden |
| Portuguese | refrescar , atualizar, recarregar |
| Spanish | refrescar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does refresh come from?
From Middle English refreshen, refreschen, refrisschen, from Old French refrescher (“to refresh”) (modern French rafraîchir), equivalent to re- + fresh.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).