scratch one's own itch

verb

To do something out of motivation to solve a personal problem; to take matters into one's own hands.

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Meanings

verbscratch one's own itch (third-person singular simple present scratches one's own itch, present participle scratching one's own itch, simple past and past participle scratched one's own itch)

present singular third person scratches one's own itch · participle present scratching one's own itch · participle past scratched one's own itch · past scratched one's own itch

  1. idiomaticTo do something out of motivation to solve a personal problem; to take matters into one's own hands.

    Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch.

    1999, Eric S. Raymond, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, section 2
    1 more example

    The best advice for coming up with a business idea is "scratch your own itch". This is good advice for a variety of reasons. If you can think of a problem that you'd like a business to solve for you, the chances are other people share that problem.

    2013, The Escape Manifesto: Quit Your Corporate Job. Do Something Different!
  2. euphemisticidiomaticto masturbate

Origin

From scratch an itch.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

scratch one's own itch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scratch%20one's%20own%20itch

MLA

“scratch one's own itch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scratch%20one's%20own%20itch. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scratch one's own itch,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scratch%20one's%20own%20itch.

Source: scratch one's own itch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.