self-stim

verb

Synonym of self-stimulate.

“He self-stims when I'm not watching, and sometimes even when I am.”

Meanings

verbself-stim (third-person singular simple present self-stims, present participle self-stimming, simple past and past participle self-stimmed)

present singular third person self-stims · participle present self-stimming · participle past self-stimmed · past self-stimmed

  1. Synonym of self-stimulate.

    He self-stims when I'm not watching, and sometimes even when I am.

    1 more example

    Perhaps that is why your child is rocking back and forth, tapping his finger, or whatever he does![…]Or your child could be sensation seeking. That is, he self-stims because it feels good!

    2007, Robert E. Cimera, Making Autism a Gift, page 117

    Synonyms: self-stimulate

nounself-stim (plural self-stims)

plural self-stims

  1. An instance or habit of self-stimulation.
    1 more example

    "Looks like Mommy really screwed up this time," she said to the nonverbal child who looked only briefly at her then wiggled to the floor where he rocked back and forth while flipping his eyes left and right, a move he could do for hours and which the doctors called a "self-stim". They said it was common with kids with Angelman Syndrome.

    2010, Heath Sommer, The Human Obsession, page 283

    Synonyms: stim

Synonyms & antonyms

verbSynonym of self-stimulate.

nounAn instance or habit of self-stimulation.

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Origin

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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