self-serving
Americanadjective
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preoccupied with one's own interests, often disregarding the truth or the interests, well-being, etc., of others.
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serving to further one's own selfish interests.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of self-serving
First recorded in 1900–05
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 she now embraces her turn as the machine’s biggest sellout — whether it’s a true change of heart or a chameleonic self-serving measure as critics maintain remains to be seen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
He said all accounts that had been given by O'Lali to police had been "self-serving" and aimed at "minimising his responsibility".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
This conception of the court’s role is both self-serving and an ambitious overstatement.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
Some agencies have party members read offenders’ confessions and watch documentaries depicting cases of self-serving officials who worked for their own gain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
In her enormously self-serving and revisionist autobiography, she asserted that she agreed to make the film only after Hitler promised to keep Goebbels at bay.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
