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.
For George, his children must be able to be self-sufficient, endlessly encouraging them to watch him fix things around the house.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
One of the other triggers for the concerns has been a reported breakthrough in the manufacturing process by a Chinese company, potentially making China more self-sufficient in chip design and production.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Conceived as designs for tapestries, they are also, like so many of Matisse’s preparatory studies, self-sufficient artworks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 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
Then there is the example of the religious group known as the Hutterites, who for hundreds of years have lived in self-sufficient agricultural colonies in Europe and, since the early twentieth century, in North America.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
