self-taught
Americanadjective
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having become as specified by teaching oneself, without the aid of formal education.
She’s a self-taught photographer who sells her work online.
-
learned by oneself.
Particularly impressive is his self-taught mastery of the guitar.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of self-taught
First recorded in 1715–25
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.
Otero Alcantara, a self-taught performance artist, sculptor and painter, rose to prominence in 2020 as leader of the San Isidro protest movement of artists and intellectuals.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Among the goals for the self-taught designer: to uplift Central American culture in fashion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Meanwhile, Duncan was becoming an effective, self-taught lobbyist at the state capitol.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
McCartney's father Jim infused the house with music, bashing out self-taught tunes on an old piano.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
He could hardly be bothered with the progressively lunatic ramblings of a self-taught monk in Brno.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
