self-limiting
Americanadjective
-
limiting oneself or itself.
a self-limiting authority.
-
(of a disease) self-limited.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-limiting
First recorded in 1860–65
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.
But these requirements for club entry make for a small and self-limiting pool.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Most childhood coughs are viral, self-limiting, and resolve on their own within a week.
From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025
On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: self-limiting.
From Slate • May 28, 2024
Oxitec’s focus is on the Asian blue tick, or Rhipicephalus microplus, and using a self-limiting gene to reduce their population to better protect livestock and curb economic losses associated with tick bites and disease.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2023
What the athletes also gave him was an ability to reach into every slice of the school’s population, into every self-defined and self-limiting clique.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
