self-sustaining
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-sustaining
First recorded in 1835–45
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.
Imagine arriving on Mars as part of the fourth human mission to the Red Planet and being asked to establish the first self-sustaining food supply for a permanent settlement.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Four startups, including one from a separate DOE program, say they have achieved criticality, or self-sustaining nuclear reactions, with their reactor designs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
He said the blaze was "self-sustaining" and changing direction, with the fire moving east towards Bordeaux on Friday evening.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The taco stand about 100 yards off had its normal self-sustaining line.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
“When they come to rescue us, they will find us with clean, jungle-forward, fashionable huts and a self-sustaining ecosystem. We will be the Miss Teen Dreamers they write about in history books,” Taylor said.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
