fend for oneself

present singular third person fends for oneself · participle present fending for oneself · participle past fended for oneself · past fended for oneself

1. To take care of oneself without help.

   After her mother passed away, she had to learn to fend for herself.

   1 more example

   Clara's father, a trollish ne'er-do-well who spent most of his time in brothels and saloons, would disappear for days and weeks at a stretch, leaving Clara and her mother to fend for themselves.

   2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 26

   Synonyms: shift