self-examine

verb

To examine (something) by oneself.

“Women should self-examine their breasts once a month.”

OriginEnglish examine ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

verbself-examine (third-person singular simple present self-examines, present participle self-examining, simple past and past participle self-examined)

present singular third person self-examines · participle present self-examining · participle past self-examined · past self-examined

  1. transitiveTo examine (something) by oneself.

    Women should self-examine their breasts once a month.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishexamine
  9. Englishself-examine

From self- + examine.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French auto-examiner
  • auto-examinerto examine (something) by oneself
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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