self-improvement

American  

[self-im-proov-muhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf ɪmˈpruv mənt, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

1. improvement of one's mind, character, etc., through one's own efforts.

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self-improvement British  

noun

1. the improvement of one's status, position, education, etc, by one's own efforts

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Other Word Forms

• self-improver
  noun
• self-improvable
  adjective
• self-improving
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of self-improvement

First recorded in 1735–45

Explanation

The process of making yourself a better or more knowledgable person can be called self-improvement. Doing sit-ups every night and learning to speak Mandarin might be part of your new self-improvement routine. Anything you do in an attempt to improve yourself is self-improvement. Volunteering at a homeless shelter, going to college, learning to meditate — all of these things can lead to self-improvement. Often, self-improvement and self-help are used interchangeably. The improvement part of this word originally meant "making money with something," but by the 1640s it came to mean "the act of making better."

Example Sentences

If he has traveled an arc of self-improvement, it has still landed him in a pretty rotten place.

From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026

Anthropic called for top AI labs to consider slowing development, citing rapid advancements and potential for recursive self-improvement.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

That acceleration creates a feedback loop that Anthropic warned could eventually lead to what researchers call "recursive self-improvement."

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

Which is how, after years of culinary self-improvement, I found myself becoming an evangelist for some of the least glamorous products in the grocery store.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026

So there was no time for self-improvement until well into the afternoon.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman