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renovation

UK/ɹɛnəˈveɪʃən/US/ɹɛnəˈveɪʃən/
nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #8,954 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: renovations

A renovation is the repairing and modernising of an old building until it shines again. New wiring, new plaster, and the good bits kept.

It differs from restoration, which aims to return something to exactly how it was, and from redevelopment, which knocks it down. A renovation keeps the shell and remakes the inside. The verb is renovate. British property programmes have made the whole vocabulary familiar, and the standard warning is that a renovation always costs more and takes longer than the plan said.

Abbie Rowe · Public domain

Definitions of renovation

  1. 1nounrenovationThe repair and modernisation of an old building.B2+

    “The renovation took eighteen months.”

Also accepted in games: refurbishment, remodeling

Where it comes from

  1. Latin

    renovatio

  2. Middle French

    renovation

  3. Middle English

    renovacion

  4. English, today

    renovation

From Middle English renovacion, from Middle French renovation, from Latin renovatio. From Middle English renovacion,renovacyoun, from Middle French renovation and its etymon, Latin renovātiō. by surface analysis, renovate + -ion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Around the House, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 2 of A Man Called Ove.

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renovation in the wild

  • Final completion of all renovations is scheduled for June 2026, although the stadium reopened in November 2025 at a reduced capacity.

    Camp Nou

  • On 28 October 2011, the Bolshoi re-opened after an extensive six-year renovation.

    Bolshoi Theatre

  • The official cost of the renovation is 21 billion rubles.

    Bolshoi Theatre

  • The theater was closed for renovation between 2023 and 2025.

    Delacorte Theater

  • The street plan and distinctive appearance of the centre of Paris today are largely the result of Haussmann's renovation.

    Haussmann's renovation of Paris

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • renovate