overhaul
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To modernize, repair, renovate, or revise completely.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ohverhawlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈoʊvɚhɔl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
To modernize, repair, renovate, or revise completely.
To pass, overtake, or travel past.
transitive
To search (a ship) for contraband goods.
noun
A major repair, renovation, or revision.
firefighting
The process after the fire appears extinguished in which the firefighters search the structure for signs of hot spots that may cause the structure to reignite.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A major repair, renovation, or revision.
Used this way, overhaul is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An overhaul between the regular times for overhauling.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.