reinvent the wheel
idiom
informal
: to waste time trying to do something that has already been done successfully by someone else
Examples of reinvent the wheel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is no need to reinvent the wheel or to craft a ‘perfect’ policy solution or, worse yet, cutting and pasting from other unrelated jurisdictions.
—
Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Samsung’s tablets have consistently scored well in our expert reviews for being reliable, simple, and not trying to reinvent the wheel.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 24 July 2025
However, designers didn’t fully reinvent the wheel, instead making small yet noticeable tweaks to freshen up the silhouette, such as leaning into of-the-moment hues (hello, butter yellow) and details like metal adornments.
—Kelsey Stewart, refinery29.com, 8 July 2025
This leads to delays in problem resolution, as employees must either spend hours searching for relevant information or reinvent the wheel entirely each time a problem is encountered.
—Andreas Eschbach, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for reinvent the wheel
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Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Samsung’s tablets have consistently scored well in our expert reviews for being reliable, simple, and not trying to reinvent the wheel.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 24 July 2025
However, designers didn’t fully reinvent the wheel, instead making small yet noticeable tweaks to freshen up the silhouette, such as leaning into of-the-moment hues (hello, butter yellow) and details like metal adornments.
—Kelsey Stewart, refinery29.com, 8 July 2025
This leads to delays in problem resolution, as employees must either spend hours searching for relevant information or reinvent the wheel entirely each time a problem is encountered.
—Andreas Eschbach, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for reinvent the wheel
Cite this Entry
“Reinvent the wheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reinvent%20the%20wheel. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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