pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps

A form of pull oneself up by one's bootstraps — To begin an enterprise or recover from a setback without any outside help; to succeed only by one's own efforts or abilities.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbpull oneself up by one's own bootstraps (third-person singular simple present pulls oneself up by one's own bootstraps, present participle pulling oneself up by one's own bootstraps, simple past and past participle pulled oneself up by one's own bootstraps)

present singular third person pulls oneself up by one's own bootstraps · participle present pulling oneself up by one's own bootstraps · participle past pulled oneself up by one's own bootstraps · past pulled oneself up by one's own bootstraps

  1. alternativeAlternative form of pull oneself up by one's bootstraps.
Cite this entry
APA

pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20oneself%20up%20by%20one's%20own%20bootstraps

MLA

“pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20oneself%20up%20by%20one's%20own%20bootstraps. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20oneself%20up%20by%20one's%20own%20bootstraps.

Source: pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.