: made such by one's own actions
especially : having achieved success or prominence by one's own efforts
a self-made man

Examples of self-made in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
One can be set off by a new chief executive officer, the passage of time or some retail disaster — self-made or otherwise. Evan Clark, Footwear News, 11 July 2025 While more than a quarter of America’s three-comma-club inherited their money, 93% of immigrant billionaires are self-made. Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025 And here's the real insight: many of these chefs are self-made, rising from anonymous line cooks to international icons. Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025 Of the 11 billionaire women in control of a sports team, seven can attribute their fortunes to inheritance or their spouses while four are self-made. Justin Birnbaum, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025 Most of my fellow condo-owners were extremely wealthy, though many, like me, were self-made. Gillian Telling, People.com, 26 Apr. 2025 These are heirs to optometry empires and pharma conglomerates, and some are even self-made. Zoya Hasan, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025 Besides wealth, Forbes also ranked each member based on their lifetime charitable giving and the degree to which their fortunes are self-made or inherited. Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 11 Dec. 2024 Three-quarters of these 431 women inherited part of their fortunes, while the remaining billionaires are self-made. Jane Thier, Fortune, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-made was in 1555

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Cite this Entry

“Self-made.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-made. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

self-made

adjective
ˈself-ˈmād
1
: made by one's own actions
2
: raised from poverty by one's own efforts
a self-made person

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