raise oneself up by one's 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

verbraise oneself up by one's bootstraps (third-person singular simple present raises oneself up by one's bootstraps, present participle raising oneself up by one's bootstraps, simple past and past participle raised oneself up by one's bootstraps)

present singular third person raises oneself up by one's bootstraps · participle present raising oneself up by one's bootstraps · participle past raised oneself up by one's bootstraps · past raised oneself up by one's bootstraps

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

raise oneself up by one's bootstraps. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20oneself%20up%20by%20one's%20bootstraps

MLA

“raise oneself up by one's bootstraps.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20oneself%20up%20by%20one's%20bootstraps. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “raise oneself up by one's bootstraps,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20oneself%20up%20by%20one's%20bootstraps.

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