self-contained
Americanadjective
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containing in oneself or itself all that is necessary; independent.
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reserved or uncommunicative.
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self-controlled or self-possessed.
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(of a machine or mechanism) complete in itself.
adjective
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containing within itself all parts necessary for completeness
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(of a flat) having its own kitchen, bathroom, and lavatory not shared by others and usually having its own entrance
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able or tending to keep one's feelings, thoughts, etc, to oneself; reserved
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able to control one's feelings or emotions in the presence of others
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-contained
First recorded in 1585–95
Vocabulary lists containing self-contained
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.
Hope Jahren, a geobiologist and plant researcher, describes her laboratory as a refuge, a church and a self-contained world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
But there’s also a nostalgia for catalogs as self-contained and curated; a static set of choices rather than pages and pages of search results.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
And considering that in “Bottoms” or “Bodies Bodies Bodies” you often were the outrageous character, what has it been like for you to play this character that’s a little more self-contained?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
“I do think there is something here about the rich just operating in almost a self-contained economy — a cloud city — where they’re all trading money with one another,” said Richards of Groundwork Collaborative.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026
When he found on this first morning back at Devon that it happened still to be crippled and in a cast, he said in his usual self-contained way, “Hand me my crutches, will you?”
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
