# build a better mousetrap

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/build-a-better-mousetrap
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To create a new product, method, or idea that is better than an existing version of something already common or widely used.

## 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.

## 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).

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.