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
Any image is a separate and self-contained reality which has its own ends and responds to its own imperatives, for artists are bound only to their creativity.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
