put new wine in old bottles

verb

To introduce a new idea, method, or innovation into an established, outdated or inflexible system or organization.

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Meanings

verbput new wine in old bottles (third-person singular simple present puts new wine in old bottles, present participle putting new wine in old bottles, simple past and past participle put new wine in old bottles)

present singular third person puts new wine in old bottles · participle present putting new wine in old bottles

  1. idiomaticinformalTo introduce a new idea, method, or innovation into an established, outdated or inflexible system or organization.

Origin

From new wine in an old bottle.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

put new wine in old bottles. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20new%20wine%20in%20old%20bottles

MLA

“put new wine in old bottles.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20new%20wine%20in%20old%20bottles. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put new wine in old bottles,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20new%20wine%20in%20old%20bottles.

Source: put new wine in old bottles on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.