self-sustaining
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- self-sustained adjective
- self-sustainingly adverb
- self-sustainment noun
Etymology
Origin of self-sustaining
First recorded in 1835–45
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.
Navigating the obstacles while upholding the project’s goals such as creating a self-sustaining native habitat over one of the country’s busiest freeways is critical, he said, because the outcome will influence decisions about future crossings.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
The country must act fast - building a regulated, self-sustaining recycling system, raising household awareness, and integrating waste collection into solar business models.
From BBC • Dec. 25, 2025
‘The beauty of biotech today versus five years ago is we have a number of examples of companies that launched products on their own and became self-sustaining.’
From MarketWatch • Dec. 11, 2025
No one should be under the illusion that a Mars settlement, even with a million people, could be fully independent of Earth and entirely self-sustaining.
From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025
“When they come to rescue us, they will find us with clean, jungle-forward, fashionable huts and a self-sustaining ecosystem. We will be the Miss Teen Dreamers they write about in history books,” Taylor said.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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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.