What does renovate mean?
Renovate means to restore something to a good, improved, or modern condition, most often by repairing and improving a building, room, or part of a property. The word is commonly used with houses, kitchens, offices, and historic buildings: a structure may be renovated through structural repairs, repainting, redecoration, or the installation of modern fixtures. Renovate can also have a broader figurative sense, as when a person or organization renovates its public image or modernizes an outdated system. It is generally more specific than the broad verb improve and often suggests visible physical work, although its figurative use extends that idea to appearance and reputation. Compared with restore, renovate often implies not only returning something to its former condition but also updating or enhancing it. Compared with remodel, it can suggest a more limited transformation that may retain the original structure or character. The word is familiar and broadly acceptable in British and American English and is useful whenever describing the careful restoration and improvement of something old, worn, or outdated.
verbTo restore something, especially a building or room, to a good or improved condition by repairing, refreshing, or redecorating it. It can also mean to renew or modernize something more generally.
- To repair, improve, and often redecorate a building or part of a building.
- To make something new or more modern in appearance, quality, or function.
"The old house was renovated with new windows, a modern kitchen, and improved insulation."
"The council will renovate the historic theater before it reopens to the public."
"The charity renovated its image with a new logo and a more modern website."
Renovate literally means “make new again,” capturing how a worn building can be restored to fresh life.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does renovate come from?
Renovate comes from Latin renovare, a compound of the prefix re- and novare, meaning “to make new.” The underlying root novus, meaning “new,” also gives English words such as innovation, novelty, and novice. English adopted renovate in the early 17th century, initially in the sense of making something new or renewing it, before the modern emphasis on repairing and improving buildings became established.
Related word forms
How renovate is actually used
Renovate is a neutral, formal word used for both large and small projects. It is especially common for buildings, homes, kitchens, and offices, but it can also be applied figuratively to images, reputations, or systems. It is normally transitive and takes an object.
Easily confused with renovate
Renovate usually implies repairing, improving, or redecorating a property or similar object, whereas renew more broadly means to make something valid, effective, or current again.