refresh

From Middle English refreshen, refreschen, refrisschen, from Old French refrescher ("to refresh"; > Modern French rafraîchir), equivalent to re- +‎ fresh.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɹiˈfɹɛʃ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʃ

refresh (third-person singular simple present refreshes, present participle refreshing, simple past and past participle refreshed)

1. (transitive) To renew or revitalize.

   Sleep refreshes the body and the mind.

2. (computing, transitive, intransitive) To reload (a document, especially a webpage) and show any new changes.
   • 2007, Beth Harbison, Shoe Addicts Anonymous

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

3. (computing, transitive, intransitive) To cause (a web browser or similar software) to refresh its display.
   • 2007, Philip C Plumlee, Test Driven Ajax (on Rails)

     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 […]

4. To perform the periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
5. (intransitive) To become fresh again; to be revitalized.
6. (intransitive, colloquial, dated) To take refreshment; to eat or drink.
   • 1972, Vermont History (volume 40, page 268)

     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.

refresh (plural refreshes)

1. The periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
2. (computing) 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.
   • 2013, Mark Phythian, Understanding the Intelligence Cycle (page 43)

     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?

• fresher