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.
"You need to diversify the type of value chains and crops that you are currently self-sufficient, and food security becomes now in many countries a matter of national security," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The plastic home didn’t remake housing; the automated kitchen didn’t free women from domestic work; the self-sufficient home gave way to new forms of reliance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Entirely self-sufficient, the National Trust-owned island relies on a combination of rainwater and boreholes drilled into the granite for supplies.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The advanced terrace system made the Aztecs self-sufficient in food, he says, “allowing them to create their empire.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
They had decided to be self-sufficient; it seemed the safest thing to be now, and the natural way for them to live.
From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff
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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.
