self-improvement

noun

self-im·​prove·​ment ˌself-im-ˈprüv-mənt 

plural self-improvements

: the act or process of improving oneself by one's own actions

individuals interested in self-improvement

opportunities for self-improvement

also : an instance or result of such improvement

You don't need to wait to ring in the new year to start making self-improvements, because it's always a good time.

—Nicole Yi

—often used before another noun

self-improvement efforts

a self-improvement blog

Examples of self-improvement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The paper outlines potential routes like recursive self-improvement and large agent collectives. —Craig S. Smith, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026

While the process of unlearning everything you’ve ever been taught doesn’t happen overnight, resources like this new guidebook from Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall, a design anthropologist, educator, and writer, are excellent tools for self-improvement. —Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 18 June 2026

The report cites this as an early stage of recursive self-improvement—the theoretical point at which an AI system becomes capable of autonomously designing its own successor. —Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 9 June 2026

Off the pitch, Kvaratskhelia was generous, obsessed over his self-improvement, and unfailingly polite. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-improvement

• improvement
• movement

Kids Definition

self-improvement

noun

self-im·​prove·​ment

ˌsel-ˌfim-ˈprüv-mənt

: improvement of oneself by one's own actions