Refinancing is when you already owe money — a house loan, a car loan, a business loan — and you borrow a new sum from a bank (the same one or a new one) in order to pay that old debt off. The new loan is meant to take the place of the old one, not sit on top of it. People do this when the new deal looks kinder: a lower interest rate, more years to pay, or one loan instead of several messy ones. Banks and news talk this way all the time; at the dinner table people more often say they are 'changing the loan' or 'getting a better rate.' Though actually, it is not always a win. There are fees, and if you stretch the years, each month may feel lighter while the total you pay grows. It is a money-world word, a little formal, but ads for house loans use it freely.