autodidact

noun

au·​to·​di·​dact ˌȯ-tō-ˈdī-ˌdakt  -dī-ˈdakt 

-də-ˈdakt

: a self-taught person

was an autodidact who read voraciously

autodidactic

ˌȯ-tō-dī-ˈdak-tik 

-də-

adjective

Examples of autodidact in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The irony is that Bradway runs a company built on the opposite of the autodidact. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 3 June 2026

Instead of being passive students, today’s young people must take an active role in their own learning, becoming autodidacts in the tradition of Benjamin Franklin or Mary Shelley. — Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 4 Feb. 2026

An autodidact, the Swedish artist and product developer established 19-69 after a two-year-long creative process with artisans across Scandinavia, France and Italy, which led to the launch of the initial five fragrances at Colette in August 2017. — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 19 Jan. 2026

Tanton was an autodidact and an irrepressible writer of memorandums; his personal library contained several thousand books. — Rachel Morris, New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin & Greek; New Latin autodidactus "self-taught," borrowed from Greek autodídaktos, from auto- auto- + didaktós "taught, learned" — more at didactic

First Known Use

1784, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for autodidact

• overreact
• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact
• contract
• detract
• distract
• enact
• exact
• extract
• hijacked