Idiom
build a better mousetrap
Meaning
To create a new product, method, or idea that is better than an existing version of something already common or widely used.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“She is trying to build a better mousetrap for cleaning floors.”
“He wants to build a better mousetrap for charging electric cars.”
“The startup hopes to build a better mousetrap by using artificial intelligence to simplify how people manage their daily schedules.”
“The new software company wants to build a better mousetrap by making online banking much faster and more secure for small business owners.”
“While many competitors were content with minor updates, the visionary entrepreneur sought to build a better mousetrap that would fundamentally disrupt the entire industry.”
Examples
simple
“She is trying to build a better mousetrap for cleaning floors.”
“He wants to build a better mousetrap for charging electric cars.”
contextual
“The startup hopes to build a better mousetrap by using artificial intelligence to simplify how people manage their daily schedules.”
“The new software company wants to build a better mousetrap by making online banking much faster and more secure for small business owners.”
complex
“While many competitors were content with minor updates, the visionary entrepreneur sought to build a better mousetrap that would fundamentally disrupt the entire industry.”
Origin
A shortening of build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. Derived from the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods. (1855).
Key words
Related idioms
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