Is 'reinventing the wheel' always negative?

Yes, almost always. The phrase implies wasted effort. If you want to describe building something new in a positive way, say 'building from scratch' or 'creating a custom solution' instead.

How do I politely tell someone they're reinventing the wheel?

Use softening phrases: 'I think we might be reinventing the wheel here—have you checked if X library does this?' Or: 'Just a thought—there might be an existing solution for this.'

Can I use 'reinventing the wheel' in a code review?

Yes, it's common in code reviews. You might write: 'This looks like we're reinventing the wheel. Consider using [library name] instead.' It's direct but accepted.

What's the difference between 'reinventing the wheel' and 'not invented here syndrome'?

'Reinventing the wheel' describes the action of rebuilding something that exists. 'Not invented here syndrome' describes the attitude or bias against using external solutions.

When is it okay to reinvent the wheel?

Sometimes teams intentionally build custom solutions for learning, control, or specific requirements. In those cases, people usually acknowledge it: 'I know we're reinventing the wheel, but we need full control over this component.'

How do I use this phrase in a standup?

You might say: 'I realized I was reinventing the wheel, so I switched to using the existing utility.' Or: 'Before I continue, I want to check if we're reinventing the wheel here.'

What Does "Reinventing the Wheel" Mean?

Commonness	4/5
Versatility	4/5
Formality	CasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ Written	SpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ Diplomatic	DirectDiplomaticDirect
Region	US and UK

Say it like this

✓No need to reinvent the wheel here—let's just use the existing library.

✓Before you build that, check if we're reinventing the wheel.

✓Why reinvent the wheel when there's already an npm package for this?

✓I think we're reinventing the wheel with this custom solution.

✓Let's not reinvent the wheel—the platform already handles that.

Real examples

Standup

"I spent yesterday on the date formatter, but then realized I was reinventing the wheel—there's already a util for that."

Slack message

"Hey, just a heads up—we might be reinventing the wheel here. Check out the shared-components repo first."

GitHub PR

"This looks like we're reinventing the wheel. Have you considered using lodash for this functionality?"

Jira ticket

"Before starting this task, verify we're not reinventing the wheel—similar functionality may exist in the auth module."

Retrospective

"We wasted a sprint reinventing the wheel when we could have used an open-source solution."

Sprint planning

"Let's make sure we're not reinventing the wheel—can someone research existing tools first?"

Pair programming

"Hold on, are we reinventing the wheel? I think React has a built-in hook for this."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Saying someone is "reinventing the wheel" can sound critical—soften it with "I think we might be..." in code reviews.

✕We should reinvent the wheel to save time.

✓We shouldn't reinvent the wheel—it'll save time.— Reinventing the wheel is always presented as negative/wasteful. You avoid it to save time, not do it.

✕I reinvented the wheel and found a great library.

✓I avoided reinventing the wheel by using an existing library.— Reinventing the wheel means building your own, not finding something that exists.

✕Let's reinvent the wheel on this feature.

✓Let's not reinvent the wheel on this feature.— The phrase is almost always used with 'don't' or 'stop'—it's rarely positive.

Other forms

verb phrase (gerund)

reinventing the wheel

"We're reinventing the wheel with this custom parser."

verb phrase (infinitive)

reinvent the wheel

"There's no need to reinvent the wheel."

noun phrase

wheel reinvention

"This is classic wheel reinvention—just use the SDK."

Often used with

don't reinvent the wheelMost common form—advice to use existing solutions

stop reinventing the wheelDirect instruction, often in code review

no need to reinvent the wheelPolite suggestion that a solution exists

why reinvent the wheelRhetorical question challenging the approach

avoid reinventing the wheelUsed in planning or documentation

Similar words

start from scratchMore neutral—doesn't imply waste like 'reinventing the wheel'

duplicate effortFormal alternative, often used in project management

rebuild something that existsDirect description without the idiom

write custom codeNeutral description—can be good or bad depending on context

Opposites

leverage existing solutionsreuse codeuse off-the-shelfbuild on top of

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Choose the most natural response

1. A teammate asks: 'Should I write my own validation library?' What's the best reply?

Yes, reinvent the wheel.No need to reinvent the wheel—use Yup or Zod.Reinvent the wheel is good here.

Find the error

2. Which sentence uses the phrase incorrectly?

Let's not reinvent the wheel on this.We reinvented the wheel and it saved us weeks.Why reinvent the wheel when a library exists?

Complete the sentence

3. Before building a custom auth system, make sure you're not _______ the wheel.

Rewrite more naturally

4. We are making a new thing that someone already made before.

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "reinventing the wheel" in a standup this week?

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