English

Verb

reinvent the wheel

1. (idiomatic) 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.
   • 2000 August 28, Dave Kearns, “Directory Services: Let's not reinvent the wheel”, in Network World, volume 17, page 22:

     Evidently, the trend in security applications is to reinvent the wheel, or in this case, to reinvent the directory service.

See also

• if it ain't broke, don't fix it
• never change a running system
• carry coals to Newcastle

Translations