reinvented the wheel

A form of reinvent the wheel — To do work unnecessarily when it has already been done satisfactorily by others; to attempt to devise a solution to a problem when a solution already exists.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of reinvent the wheel.
Cite this entry
APA

reinvented the wheel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reinvented%20the%20wheel

MLA

“reinvented the wheel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reinvented%20the%20wheel. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reinvented the wheel,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reinvented%20the%20wheel.

Source: reinvented the wheel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.