reinvent
Americanverb (used with object)
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to invent again or anew, especially without knowing that the invention already exists.
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to remake or make over, as in a different form.
At 60, he reinvented himself as a volunteer. We have an opportunity to reinvent government.
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to bring back; revive.
to reinvent trust and accountability.
verb
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to replace (a product, etc) with an entirely new version
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to duplicate (something that already exists) in what is therefore a wasted effort (esp in the phrase reinvent the wheel )
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reinvent
Explanation
To reinvent something is to completely change or remake it so thoroughly that it seems brand new. The driverless car is going to reinvent the way people think about driving. When the earliest movies with sound were released, it seemed to reinvent film. And, when libraries started incorporating more technology and getting rid of card catalogs, they reinvented research. You can also literally reinvent something, by bringing it back: "They plan to reinvent their grandmother's lost recipe for homemade root beer." To "reinvent the wheel" means to do something redundantly — to waste time on something that's already been done.
Vocabulary lists containing reinvent
Words for a New Year
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Selection Vocabulary 4, Unit 5
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The Wrong Way Home
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Titled “Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Needs to Reinvent Itself,” the package catalogs the many ways in which the country’s war machine “is ill prepared for today’s global threats and revolutionary technologies.”
From Slate • Dec. 19, 2025
Newsom’s first book, “Citizenville, How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government,” came out in 2013 after he’d been elected lieutenant governor.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
A recent study commissioned by Reinvent Albany, a state government watchdog group, estimated that the payments in lieu of taxes would amount to about $4 billion.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2022
The company merged with Reinvent Technology Partners, a “blank check” company run by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Zynga founder Mark Pincus.
From The Verge • May 26, 2022
Reinvent, rē-in-vent′, v.t. to create anew or independently.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
