refurbish

/ɹiːˈfɜːbɪʃ/

//ɹiːˈfɜːbɪʃ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"refurbish" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“refurbish” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #49,007. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,007
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To rebuild or replenish with all new material; to restore to original (or better) working order and appearance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-refurbish · refurbish · English

refurbish · rank #49,007 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #49,007
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH refuelling

Nearest frequency peer: refuelling (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “refurbish”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “refurbish” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for refurbish
PropertyValue
Headwordrefurbish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹiːˈfɜːbɪʃ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#49,007
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “refurbish”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).refurbishlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “refuelling” (#49,006), “remodelling” (#49,009), “redevelop” (#49,004). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “refurbish” is #49,007. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around refurbish (IPA /ɹiːˈfɜːbɪʃ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #49,007 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To rebuild or replenish with all new material; to restore to original (or better) working order and appearance.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for refurbish, with forms such as "erfurbish", "reffurbish", and "refrubish". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1605, from re- + furbish, from Middle English furbishen, from Middle French forbir (stem furbiss-, “to clean, polish”), from Frankish *furbēn (“to clean, polish”). The correct English form is refurbish, spelled R-E-F-U-R-B-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To rebuild or replenish with all new material; to restore to original (or better) working order and appearance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how refurbish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We're having the sitting room refurbished, after a leak damaged a large part of the room.
  2. He also makes the point that in France, SNCF is currently refurbishing some TGVs built in 1988.

Etymology

1605, from re- + furbish, from Middle English furbishen, from Middle French forbir (stem furbiss-, “to clean, polish”), from Frankish *furbēn (“to clean, polish”).

Synonyms

mangonize

This word in other languages

reacondicionar(Español)renouveler(Français)restaurieren(Deutsch)restaurar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erfurbish
  • reffurbish
  • refrubish
  • refubrish
  • refurbbish
  • refurbihs
  • refurbishh
  • refurbissh
  • refurbsih
  • refuribsh
  • refurrbish
  • reufrbish
  • rfeurbish
  • rrefurbish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of refurbish - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

erfurbish2reffurbish1refrubish2refubrish2refurbbish1refurbihs2refurbishh1refurbissh1
Edit distance from "refurbish"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "refurbish"?
"refurbish" is spelled R-E-F-U-R-B-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹiːˈfɜːbɪʃ/.
What does "refurbish" mean?
As a verb, "refurbish" means: To rebuild or replenish with all new material; to restore to original (or better) working order and appearance.
What are common misspellings of "refurbish"?
Common misspellings include "erfurbish", "reffurbish", "refrubish", "refubrish", "refurbbish". The correct spelling is "refurbish".
How do you pronounce "refurbish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "refurbish" is /ɹiːˈfɜːbɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "refurbish"?
1605, from re- + furbish, from Middle English furbishen, from Middle French forbir (stem furbiss-, “to clean, polish”), from Frankish *furbēn (“to clean, polish”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "refurbish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

redevelop#49,004Rosenbaum#49,021salicylic#49,029sanitized#49,031

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

remodelling14 variantspromissory14 variantsphonetics14 variantsobstetric14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list