Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Origin: overhaul 'to make (a rope) loose by pulling it back' (17-19 centuries)

overhaul

1 verb
     
o‧ver‧haul1 [transitive]
1 to repair or change the necessary parts in a machine, system etc that is not working correctly:
A mechanic is coming to overhaul the engine.
2 to change a system or method in order to improve it:
All the community's decision-making institutions need to be overhauled.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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