Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or an instance of helping or improving oneself without assistance from others.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Working for one's self without assistance from others.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective of, pertaining to, or useful for the process of developing one's capabilities or solving one's problems.
  • noun The act of aiding one's self, without depending on the aid of others.
  • noun (Law) The right or fact of redressing or preventing wrongs by one's own action without recourse to legal proceedings, as in self-defense, distress, abatement of a nuisance, etc.
  • noun developing one's capabilities or solving one's own problems, especially psychological problems, without the assistance of a professional, by independent study or by association with other individuals having similar interests.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the practice of bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others.
  • noun law an act of redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions rather than through legal proceedings

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of helping or improving yourself without relying on anyone else

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Here, they're all playing nicely at moguldom and at mentoring, professing a commitment to nurturing talent and using the term "support system" in a way that splits the difference between the jargon of self-help and the language of networking.

    Slate Magazine Troy Patterson 2011

  • It's a promising thought, but to place this book in the rubric of self-help would be to mistake Kahneman-who lived for several years in Nazi-occupied France-for a benighted optimist.

    Slate Articles Daniel Engber 2011

  • Talk to your doctor, or call a self-help group such as Alcoholics Anonymous see Resources or check in your local yellow pages.

    THE LUPUS HANDBOOK FOR WOMEN ROBIN DIBNER 1994

  • Talk to your doctor, or call a self-help group such as Alcoholics Anonymous see Resources or check in your local yellow pages.

    THE LUPUS HANDBOOK FOR WOMEN ROBIN DIBNER 1994

  • Talk to your doctor, or call a self-help group such as Alcoholics Anonymous see Resources or check in your local yellow pages.

    THE LUPUS HANDBOOK FOR WOMEN ROBIN DIBNER 1994

  • The 25-year-old's lyric book is a 5,000-word self-help seminar, brimming with affirmation and possibility.

    The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post Chris Richards 2011

  • While a district may be required to offer remedial support to teachers after a first ineffective rating, this must primarily entail self-help.

    NYDN Rss Editorials 2012

  • It is benefiting from what the City calls "self-help" measures, which don't depend on the economic climate.

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Richard Evans 2011

  • Supreme Court orders Google Australia to release details of creators of website labelling self-help guru Jamie McIntyre a 'thieving scumbag' INTERNET giant Google has lost a landmark legal battle that is expected to open the floodgates to online litigation against anonymous online commentators.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2011

  • Warren carries a thin Bible as he moves to and from the podium, but never opens it during the sermon, which feels very much like a self-help seminar.

    American Grace Robert D. Putnam 2010

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