Meanings
- uncountableThe practice of bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others.
a self-help book
2 more examples
Look at the self-help titles in the bookstore, and you'll get a few clues about our culture. They're all about aggression and acquisition. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see a book called How to Force your Will on Other People by Giving Them the Shaft and Fucking Them out of Their Money.
1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 91Amanda Straw estimates that she has read nearly 200 self-help books.
2019 May 2, Nina Avramova, “When you should use self-help programs and when to skip them”, in CNN, archived from the original on 13 Jun 2025Synonyms: self-improvement
- uncountablelawAn act of redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions rather than through legal proceedings.
self-help repossession
1 more example
Murder is dealt with by the law of blood-revenge, but the innocent manslayer may seek asylum at God's altar. With murder are ranked man-stealing, offences against parents, and witchcraft. Other injuries are occasions of self-help or of private suits to be adjusted at the sanctuary.
1892, W. Robertson Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, page 340
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe practice of bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*swé?
- Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
- Proto-Germanic*selbaz
- Old Englishself
- Old Englishself-
- Middle Englishself-
- Englishself-
- Englishhelp
- Englishself-help
Translations
Catalan autoajuda
- autoajudabettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Chinese Mandarin 勵志 /励志, 成功學 /成功学
- 勵志 /励志 (lìzhì)bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
- 成功學 /成功学 (chénggōngxué)bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
- 自助 (zìzhù)redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions
- 自力救濟 /自力救济 (zìlì jiùjì)redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions
Czech svépomoc
- svépomocbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Danish selvhjælp
- selvhjælpbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Dutch zelfhulp, zelfhelp
- zelfhulpbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
- zelfhelpbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Finnish itseapu, oma apu
- itseapubettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
- oma apuredressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions
German Selbsthilfe
- Selbsthilfebettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Greek αυτοβοήθεια
- αυτοβοήθεια (aftovoḯtheia)bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Hungarian önsegítés, önsegély
- önsegítésbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
- önsegélybettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
- önsegélyezésbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Irish féinchabhair, féinchúnamh
- féinchabhairbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
- féinchúnamhbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Italian autoaiuto
- autoaiutobettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Japanese 自力救済
- 自力救済 (jiriki kyūsai)redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions
Korean 자력구제
- 자력구제 (jaryeokguje)redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions
Polish samopomoc
- samopomocbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Portuguese auto-ajuda
- auto-ajudabettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Spanish autoayuda
- autoayudabettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Swedish självhjälp
- självhjälpbettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others
Cite this entry
self-help. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-help
“self-help.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-help. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-help,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-help.
Source: self-help on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.