Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To become fresh, as in vigor or appearance.
  • intransitive verb To become brisk; increase in strength. Used of the wind.
  • intransitive verb To lose saltiness.
  • intransitive verb To calve and therefore begin to produce milk. Used of a cow.
  • intransitive verb To make fresh.
  • intransitive verb To add to or strengthen (a drink).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To grow brisk; grow stronger or brighter: as, the wind freshens; the verdure freshens.
  • To grow fresh; lose salt or saltness.
  • To refresh; revive; renew.
  • To make fresh; remove saltness from: as, to freshen fish or flesh.
  • Nautical, to relieve, as a rope, by altering the position of a part exposed to friction.
  • In surgery, to denude (a part) of its tegument so as to form a raw surface which will readily unite with a similar surface when the two are brought into apposition.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To make fresh; to separate, as water, from saline ingredients; to make less salty.
  • transitive verb obsolete To refresh; to revive.
  • transitive verb (Naut.) To relieve, as a rope, by change of place where friction wears it; or to renew, as the material used to prevent chafing.
  • transitive verb (Naut.) to shift Or restore it.
  • transitive verb to pay out a little more cable, so as to bring the chafe on another part.
  • transitive verb to increase the speed of a vessel.
  • intransitive verb To grow fresh; to lose saltness.
  • intransitive verb To grow brisk or strong.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To become fresh.
  • verb To make fresh.
  • verb To begin or resume giving milk, especially after calving.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb become or make oneself fresh again
  • verb make (to feel) fresh
  • verb make fresh again

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

fresh +‎ -en

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Examples

  • AtomFury: Also, shouldn't it be 'freshen' instead of 'fresh' in this sentence?

    Use A Tea Bag To Freshen Small Spaces | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • Sometimes it's added not to cover flaws, but just to "freshen" the design and increase sales.

    Lipsticking The Chicken 2006

  • And they'll go in and they'll kind of freshen up, get out of their current garb and into fresh clothing and that kind of stuff, and that will take a while.

    CNN Transcript Aug 9, 2005 2005

  • "It's an item where you can put a unique twist to it to kind of freshen it and make it exciting again," she says.

    The Daily News Tribune Homepage RSS Caryn Rousseau/ASSOCIATED PRESS 2010

  • "It's an item where you can put a unique twist to it to kind of freshen it and make it exciting again," she says.

    The Daily News Tribune Homepage RSS 2010

  • "You can take some basics from your wardrobe and kind of freshen it up, and it's $10," she said, "rather than spending 40 or 50 on a whole brand-new outfit."

    ABC News: Top Stories 2010

  • "It's an item where you can put a unique twist to it to kind of freshen it and make it exciting again," she said.

    Berks county news 2010

  • "It's an item where you can put a unique twist to it to kind of freshen it and make it exciting again," she says.

    AugustaChronicle.com 2010

  • Bennett is not sure what that new format is, other than TVNZ wants to "freshen" the programme and to "contemporise it".

    New Zealand Herald - Top Stories 2010

  • "It's an item where you can put a unique twist to it to kind of freshen it and make it exciting again," she says.

    The MetroWest Daily News Homepage RSS 2010

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