self-sufficient
Americanadjective
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able to supply one's own or its own needs without external assistance.
The nation grows enough grain to be self-sufficient.
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having extreme confidence in one's own resources, powers, etc..
He was self-sufficient, and always reminded you of it.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-sufficient
First recorded in 1580–90
Explanation
If you take care of yourself and don't depend much on other people, you're self-sufficient. Some 20-year-olds are self-sufficient, while others still need help from their families. You can use self-sufficient to describe people who are independent financially, paying their own bills and working to support themselves, or people who are independent emotionally. It can also mean "growing enough food for its people" when you talk about a self-sufficient country or region: "They are trying to empower farmers so the country can become self-sufficient and maybe even begin to export food."
Vocabulary lists containing self-sufficient
My Side of the Mountain
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The Age of Jackson and Westward Expansion, Lessons 6–7
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Woodsong
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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.
The company laid out a plan for rivaling American behemoth Nvidia and said China could become self-sufficient in some critical areas of AI within three years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lutnick responded: "Producing revenue finally. This is their year. Next 12 months they need to become economically self-sufficient."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Anecdotally, for straight women at least, one big “if” is finding a partner who they love, who is self-sufficient, and who would make a good father.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
The flats are powered by other, renewable energy sources too, making them "almost self-sufficient", Kiltorp said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Tally remembered now that Rusty cities weren’t self-sufficient, and were always trading with one another, when they weren’t fighting over who had more stuff.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
