reinvent

Verb

reinvent (third-person singular simple present reinvents, present participle reinventing, simple past and past participle reinvented)

1. (transitive) To invent again something that has already been invented.
   • A narrative circulates at Mitchell, Hall about a naive young employee who, in his eagerness to be creative, "reinvents the wheel," devoting so many hours reformulating work that has already been done that he drives himself into a nervous breakdown.1993, Marsha Witten, “Narrative and the Culture of Obedience at the Workplace”, in Dennis K. Mumby, editor, Narrative and Social Control: Critical Perspectives (Sage Annual Reviews of Communications...
   • Overprocessing. The big problem in this area is a lack of standardization. A lot of time is spent reinventing the wheel. There are a lot of similar activities, and the lead time (set-up time) for reinventing the process should be eliminated.2012, Gerhard J[ohannes] Plenert, “How Can Lean Help IT?”, in Lean Management Principles for Information Technology (Series on Resource Management), Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, →ISBN, table 5.4 (The...
2. (transitive) To adapt into a different form; to give a new style or image to.
   • He had the ability to reinvent himself as needed.
   • The compulsion to expose, renegotiate, or reinvent the strengths and weaknesses of dance tradition offers little in its final outcome to attract the average dance-goer.2013, Deborah Hay, My Body, The Buddhist, →ISBN, page 78