self-improvement

American  

[self-im-proov-muhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf ɪmˈpruv mənt, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

1. improvement of one's mind, character, etc., through one's own efforts.

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self-improvement British  

noun

1. the improvement of one's status, position, education, etc, by one's own efforts

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Other Word Forms

• self-improvable adjective
• self-improver noun
• self-improving adjective

Etymology

Origin of self-improvement

First recorded in 1735–45

Explanation

The process of making yourself a better or more knowledgable person can be called self-improvement. Doing sit-ups every night and learning to speak Mandarin might be part of your new self-improvement routine. Anything you do in an attempt to improve yourself is self-improvement. Volunteering at a homeless shelter, going to college, learning to meditate — all of these things can lead to self-improvement. Often, self-improvement and self-help are used interchangeably. The improvement part of this word originally meant "making money with something," but by the 1640s it came to mean "the act of making better."

Example Sentences

The reality TV star said six months in county jail — without cameras and her creature comforts — proved to be a period of self-improvement and empowerment.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

Either Americans have stumbled into a golden age of self-improvement beyond the wildest lectures of Emerson, or an entire civilization is undergoing an existential crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Emerson agreed that the education and self-improvement parts of the plan were critical for boosting income.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025

A tour of his bookshelf shows his copy of PS, I Love You sitting alongside others on self-improvement, including Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, and one on how to be a better boyfriend.

From BBC • Oct. 3, 2025

She is working on a thought about her bossy older sister: Carla has a tendency to lace all her compliments with calls to self-improvement.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez