self-taught

[ self-tawt ]

/ ˈsɛlfˈtɔt /

adjective

taught to oneself or by oneself to be (as indicated) without the aid of a formal education: self-taught typing; a self-taught typist.

learned by oneself: a self-taught mastery of the guitar.

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Origin of self-taught

First recorded in 1715–25

Words nearby self-taught

self-sustaining, self-talk, self-tanning, self-tapping, self-tapping screw, self-taught, self-tender, self-test, self-to-self, self-torment, self-treatment

Example sentences from the Web for self-taught

Tuchman was often criticized by academicians for being a self-taught historian with only a BA.
No One Wins Washington’s Zero-Sum Games|Stuart Stevens|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The 25-year-old self-taught sewer caters her designs to what her customers want.
Here’s What a George Costanza Dress Looks Like|Claire Stern|May 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Often their religion is self-taught, cherry-picking slogans from the religious texts or, these days, from videos on the Web.
The Terrorist Tipping Point: What Pushed the Tsarnaev Brothers to Violence?|Christopher Dickey|April 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She has a blog, Fox on Stocks, where the self-taught savant holds forth on the ins and outs of the market.
When Celebrities Like Mila Kunis Talk Stocks, It’s Time to Get Out of the Market|Daniel Gross|March 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Chen is a self-taught legal advocate but was never allowed to take formal law courses.
Chen Guangcheng Fears Authorities Will Persecute Relatives He Leaves Behind|Melinda Liu|May 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Many of the architects are self-taught, and have served little or no apprenticeship to the profession.
Town Life in Australia|R. E. N. (Richard) Twopeny
There have been great captains whose precocious and self-taught military skill resembled intuition.
Critical and Historical Essays, Volume III (of 3)|Thomas Babington Macaulay
Thomas Godfrey, a self-taught mathematician, great in his way, and afterward inventor of what is now called Hadley's Quadrant.
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin|Benjamin Franklin
He spoke of his motto, quoting it clumsily with his self-taught accent, so that a smile almost came to her lips.
The Barrier|Allen French
He was a self-taught musician, his only “course of study” lasting three weeks,—in a country singing school at Groton.
The Story of the Hymns and Tunes|Theron Brown and Hezekiah Butterworth

British Dictionary definitions for self-taught

self-taught

adjective

having learnt oneself without any external or formal instruction

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012