reinvent the wheel
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To recreate something that already exists
Literally: to remake a circular object
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I mean, why reinvent the wheel if it rolls?
It is not reinventing the wheel, but adapting past methods to modern conditions and techniques, and reinvolving the true investors without whom conservation will not work — has not worked.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “reinvent the wheel” mean?
To recreate something that already exists Literally: to remake a circular object
Is “reinvent the wheel” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.