refresh

present singular third person refreshes · participle present refreshing · participle past refreshed · past refreshed

1. transitiveTo renew or revitalize.

   Sleep refreshes the body and the mind.

   1 more example

   Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 31:16–17

2. intransitiveTo become fresh again; to be revitalized.
3. ambitransitivecomputingTo reload (a document, especially a webpage) and show any new changes.

   She refreshed the page. She was still the high bidder. Good.

   2007, Beth Harbison, Shoe Addicts Anonymous

4. ambitransitivecomputingTo cause (a web browser or similar software) to refresh its display.

   You can save your code, refresh your browser, and see a change instantly. This simple trick turns a lowly web browser into a development environment […]

   2007, Philip C Plumlee, Test Driven Ajax (on Rails)

5. To perform the periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
6. colloquialdatedintransitiveTo take refreshment; to eat or drink.

   We got within two miles of there, and stopped in the woods out of sight, where we refreshed with some brandy, and gave the two boys very large portions.

   1972, Vermont History, volume 40, page 268

plural refreshes

1. The periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
2. computingThe 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.

   We leave on time and immediately I'm aware of the Cummins underfloor engine. There are rattles aplenty - this train is old, tired, and needs a refresh.

   2026 January 7, 'Mystery Shopper', “Cornish cream - without the jams?”, in RAIL, number 1052, page 47

   1 more example

   Experiences such as the Al Qaeda threat have provided a taste of how the landscape may have changed very fundamentally. Do these changes spell the end of the Cycle as a useful concept, or does it just need a refresh?

   2013, Mark Phythian, Understanding the Intelligence Cycle, page 43