self-care

noun

The care given to oneself, especially to maintain one's physical or psychological well-being.

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Meanings

nounself-care (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe care given to oneself, especially to maintain one's physical or psychological well-being.

    But you’ve probably noticed that I know nothing about anything that’s happening. This is deliberate. It is a form of self-care. I have started tuning out for my own mental health.

    2025 November 4, Alexandra Petri, “Mike Johnson: I Am Tuning Out the News Cycle to Focus on Self-Care”, in The Atlantic
    1 more example

    You could call my behavior “selfish” or you could call it “self-care”. You’ve probably heard the term; it’s become a bit of a buzzword. As the political climate has grown more turbulent, interest in self-care has risen.

    2017 January 12, Arwa Mahdawi, “Generation treat yo' self: the problem with 'self-care'”, in The Guardian

Origin

From self- + care.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan autocura
  • autocuracare given to oneself
Chinese Mandarin 自我照顧 /自我照顾, 自我護理 /自我护理
  • 自我照顧 /自我照顾 (zìwǒ zhàogù)care given to oneself
  • 自我護理 /自我护理 (zìwǒ hùlǐ)care given to oneself
  • 自我保健 (zìwǒ bǎojiàn)care given to oneself
Dutch zelfzorg
  • zelfzorgcare given to oneself
Finnish itsestään huolehtiminen
  • itsestään huolehtiminencare given to oneself
French autogestion de la santé, prendre soin de soi
  • autogestion de la santécare given to oneself
  • prendre soin de soicare given to oneself
  • autosoinscare given to oneself
German Selbstfürsorge
  • Selbstfürsorgecare given to oneself
Greek αυτοφροντίδα
  • αυτοφροντίδα (aftofrontída)care given to oneself
Hawaiian hikaluhi
  • hikaluhicare given to oneself
Indonesian perawatan diri
  • perawatan diricare given to oneself
Irish féinchúram
  • féinchúramcare given to oneself
Italian autogestione delle cure sanitarie, cura di sé
  • autogestione delle cure sanitariecare given to oneself
  • cura di sécare given to oneself
  • cura personalecare given to oneself
  • autocuracare given to oneself
  • automedicazionecare given to oneself
Korean 셀프케어, 자기돌봄
  • 셀프케어 (selpeukeeo)care given to oneself
  • 자기돌봄 (jagidolbom)care given to oneself
Malay penjagaan diri
  • penjagaan diricare given to oneself
Portuguese autocuidado
  • autocuidadocare given to oneself
Spanish autocuidado
  • autocuidadocare given to oneself
Swedish egenvård
  • egenvårdcare given to oneself
Welsh hunanofal
  • hunanofalcare given to oneself
Cite this entry
APA

self-care. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-care

MLA

“self-care.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-care. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-care,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-care.

Source: self-care on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.