a person or thing referred to with respect to complete individuality.
one's own self.
a person's nature, character, etc..
his better self.
personal interest.
Philosophy.
the ego; that which knows, remembers, desires, suffers, etc., as contrasted with that known, remembered, etc.
the uniting principle, as a soul, underlying all subjective experience.
being the same throughout, as a color; uniform.
being of one piece with or the same material as the rest.
drapes with a self lining.
Immunology. the natural constituents of the body, which are normally not subject to attack by components of the immune system (contrasted with nonself).
Obsolete. same.
the distinct individuality or identity of a person or thing
a person's usual or typical bodily make-up or personal characteristics
she looked her old self again
rare a polite way of referring to or addressing a person (or persons), used following your, his, her, or their
one's own welfare or interests
he only thinks of self
an individual's consciousness of his own identity or being
philosophy that which is essential to an individual, esp the mind or soul in Cartesian metaphysics; the ego
a bird, animal, etc, that is a single colour throughout, esp a self-coloured pigeon
of the same colour or material See also self-coloured
a dress with a self belt
obsolete the same
of oneself or itself
self-defence
self-rule
by, to, in, due to, for, or from the self
self-employed
self-inflicted
self-respect
automatic or automatically
self-propelled
What does self- mean? Self- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “self,” in a variety of senses. Often, it is used to mean "of the self," "independent," or "automatic." In many instances, it is separated from the second element with a hyphen, as in self-government. It is often used in a variety of everyday and technical terms. Self- comes from Old English self, meaning “self.”
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English self, selfa; cognate with Dutch zelf, German selb-, Old Norse sjalfr, Gothic silba; akin to Irish féin, Latin suī, sē
Your self is your sense of who you are, deep down — your identity. When you let someone else know you well, you reveal your true self to them. If the subject of your thoughts is you, you're thinking about your self — or, alternately, yourself. There are parts of your brain that make it possible for you to think about the concept of self, and schools of philosophy devoted to exploring why people have a unique sense of self. Psychologists also study the development of the self, or the beginning of self-awareness, in children. Self comes from the Old English, in which it means "one's own person."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Or if you’re doing well in your career but taking time to shift gears, then you can bet on your future self.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
He self funds participation in surfing competitions and has been thankful for his supporters close to home.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Reworking her pieces felt, she writes, like a “soothing exercise, a way to return to a younger self and tinker with her words and assumptions.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Releasing updated figures on Tuesday, Zimbabwe's cabinet said 108,366 of its people had come home as of July 18, a majority of them self repatriating.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Farmer had not only exposed his deepest self to her, but also to some degree changed her life.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
A journalist said many in the media are "self- censoring" what they report, waiting to gauge how the new rulers will behave.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2025
The participants who performed acts of niceness reported higher well-being on all four—a sense of meaning in life, self- satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and mood—than those who did errands.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2023
But “Hello Tomorrow!” suggests that deceptions, self- and otherwise, are the rocket fuel that keeps us moving through an otherwise indifferent universe.
From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2023
And populations in Africa and Asia, feeling they had earned liberation from prewar colonialism, began to reach for more self- determination and national legitimacy.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
These self- appointed tasks would occupy her during quiet, hot days of her summer vacation, and her mother would look on in disbelief, sipping watermelon sherbet in front of the fan.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
“We often judge our younger selves using knowledge, maturity and resources that we did not possess at the time,” Penberthy says.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Gently pulling down the pictures, taken on the beach day they made their relationship official, Charlie smiles wistfully at their younger selves: “We look like babies.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Our bodies have a mechanism for rebuilding worn-out or damaged tissue, replacing whole sections of our selves annually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Holloway added: "I want to express to people that you are allowed to evolve and change and embrace the whole story, their whole selves."
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
They fold their wild, crazy selves into tiny squares at school—no fighting, no cursing, just royal.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
