Refan

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An airplane engine that has been refanned.

    "In considering the relative merits of SAM versus refan in our rule-making efforts, we have considered the following factors as being of primary significance."

Verb
  1. 1
    To fan again:; To spread again.

    "You flashing star that shines so bright In the pale moon's pallor light, A sullen hope erstwhile now springs, And the lost soul refans its wings; It mounts, falls further down in scorn, A victim for thee, O brother worm."

  2. 2
    To fan again:; To cause air to blow on again.

    "The heat was great, and the nights were passed in fanning oneself to sleep, awaking, and refanning to sleep again."

  3. 3
    To fan again:; To revive or reinvigorate. figuratively

    "When gaining a victory, visions of further successes buoyed me up and refanned my sinking courage ; a well-contested but lost game caused me to apply myself to renewed study, and so engaged I often passed the midnight hours in solitude over the chess-board."

  4. 4
    To fan again:; To winnow again.

    "I know that I am dilating upon a subject that I have already made mention of, but it cannot be too forcibly brought to the attention of planters that the selection of Mother Seed of the very best quality is of vital importance and that no rice ought to be planted that has not gone through a screening and refanning process so as to eliminate the light, chaffy, chalky and imperfect grains, all of which reproduce themselves in a plant that is weak and sickly and tends to deterioration."

  5. 5
    To retrofit an airplane engine with a turbofan that reduces noise.

    "A new engine would have to be markedly superior not only to the JT8D but also to a JT8D or Rolls-Royce Spey refanned to a higher bypass ration."

Example

More examples

"You flashing star that shines so bright In the pale moon's pallor light, A sullen hope erstwhile now springs, And the lost soul refans its wings; It mounts, falls further down in scorn, A victim for thee, O brother worm."

Etymology

From re- + fan.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.