Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having achieved wealth, success, or a particular status through one's own efforts, without the advantage of inherited wealth, privilege, or position. It emphasizes the journey from a starting point of little or no advantage to a position of accomplishment.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • He is a classic self-made man who built his company from a garage workshop.
  • She takes great pride in being a self-made entrepreneur.
  • The biography tells the story of a self-made billionaire.

Advanced Usage

• "self-made success": A person or story characterized by achieving success through personal effort.
  • Her life is an inspiring tale of self-made success.
• The term can sometimes carry a connotation of rugged individualism and can be used to contrast with those who inherited their status.
  • The debate contrasted the policies favored by heirs with those favored by the self-made wealthy.

Variants and Related Words

• Self-made man/woman/person: The most common compound phrase, specifically denoting an individual who fits this description.
  • He is often described as a self-made man.
• Self-reliance (n): Reliance on one's own powers and resources rather than those of others; a related concept.
• Self-starter (n): A person who is motivated to begin and complete tasks without external supervision; a quality often associated with being self-made.

Synonyms

• Self-created: Brought into existence by one's own actions.
• Up-by-the-bootstraps: (Idiomatic) Having succeeded by one's own efforts, especially from a poor beginning. (Note: This is often used in the phrase "pull oneself up by one's bootstraps.")

Antonyms

• To the manor born: (Idiomatic) Accustomed to wealth and privilege from birth.
• Hereditary: Position or title conferred by or based on inheritance.
• Silver-spoon: (Informal, often in "born with a silver spoon in one's mouth") Born into a wealthy family.

Related Idioms

• To pull oneself up by one's (own) bootstraps: To improve one's situation by one's own efforts, without external help. This idiom is closely related to the concept of being self-made.
  • He pulled himself up by his own bootstraps to become a respected community leader.

Adjective

1. having achieved success or recognition by your own efforts
   • a self-made millionaire