do it yourself

noun

The practice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself, rather than employing a professional.

Similar
DIY
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Meanings

noundo it yourself (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe practice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself, rather than employing a professional.

    THE LONDON & NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY. By O. S. Nock. Ian Allan. 30s. [...] One scarcely imagined, for example, that the great steel works at Crewe owed its existence to Sir Richard Moon's penchant for the principle of "Do it yourself", a principle born of a methodical, economical and far-seeing mind.

    1960 October, “New reading on railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 640
  2. attributiveoftenuncountableThe habit or approach of doing something for oneself, rather than for example buying a prepared product.

    The relationship between punk's do-it-yourself philosophy and the music industry, along with fashion suppliers, […]

    2020, Matt Grimes, Mike Dines, Punk Now!!: Contemporary Perspectives on Punk

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
DIY

Translations

Catalan bricolatge
  • bricolatgepractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Chinese Cantonese 親力親為 /亲力亲为
  • 親力親為 /亲力亲为 (can¹ lik⁶ can¹ wai⁴)practice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Chinese Mandarin 親力親為 /亲力亲为
  • 親力親為 /亲力亲为 (qīnlìqīnwéi)practice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Danish gør-det-selv, gør det selv
  • gør-det-selvpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • gør det selvpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Esperanto memfarado
  • memfaradopractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Finnish tee se itse, itsetekeminen
  • tee se itsepractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • itsetekeminenpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
French bricolage
  • bricolagepractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
German mach es selbst, Heimwerken
  • mach es selbstpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • Heimwerkenpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • Selbermachenpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Hungarian barkácsolás, fúrás-faragás
  • barkácsoláspractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • fúrás-faragáspractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Indonesian swakriya
  • swakriyapractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Irish déan féin é
  • déan féin épractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Italian fai da te
  • fai da tepractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Malay kerja bertukang sendiri, dibuat individu dengan yakin
  • kerja bertukang sendiripractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • dibuat individu dengan yakinpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Māori (mahi) kuhutahi
  • (mahi) kuhutahipractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Polish majsterkowanie
  • majsterkowaniepractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Portuguese faça você mesmo, faça por si mesmo
  • faça você mesmopractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • faça por si mesmopractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Romanian fă-o singur
  • fă-o singurpractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Russian сделай сам, самоде́льничество
  • сделай сам (sdelaj sam)practice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • самоде́льничество (samodélʹničestvo)practice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Spanish bricolaje, hacerlo sí mismo
  • bricolajepractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • hacerlo sí mismopractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
  • bricolage (brikolash)practice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Turkish kendin yap
  • kendin yappractice of doing home improvements and maintenance oneself — see also DIY
Cite this entry
APA

do it yourself. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20it%20yourself

MLA

“do it yourself.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20it%20yourself. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “do it yourself,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20it%20yourself.

Source: do it yourself on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.