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
- self-sufficiency noun
- self-sufficiently adverb
- unself-sufficiency noun
- unself-sufficient adjective
- unself-sufficiently adverb
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.
"We voted... thinking that a good, self-sufficient era would dawn for our country," Jayalath told AFP.
From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026
While brusque and self-sufficient, Tereza starts the film as the head-down, dutiful sort.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Administration officials say the long-term vision is to make industries self-sufficient.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026
The aim is for the school's pantry to then become self-sufficient, with the nominal fee for food covering the cost of buying it from distributors.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
Even though Bio Gel is self-sufficient, I actually do have a primitive digestive system, mostly for “psychological reasons.”
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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.
