self-promotion

noun

self-pro·​mo·​tion ˌself-prə-ˈmō-shən 

plural self-promotions

: the act of furthering one's own growth, advancement, or prosperity : the promotion of oneself

didn't try to disguise his self-promotion

self-promoter

ˌself-prə-ˈmō-tər 

noun

plural self-promoters

a self-promoter who never mentioned his teammates in interviews

They both worked tirelessly on the project and never thought about bringing attention to themselves. They weren't self-promoters …

—Jim Lambert

self-promoting

ˌself-prə-ˈmō-tiŋ 

adjective

self-promoting speeches

a self-promoting celebrity/politician

Examples of self-promotion in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At the high end, there’s a lot of self-promotion from people that are selling models who are talking in wild extrapolations of what could happen. —Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 3 Apr. 2026

What distinguished Fetchit from many of his contemporaries was his gift for self-promotion. —Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026

The author criticizes Kristi Noem’s leadership at the Department of Homeland Security as characterized by incompetence and attention-seeking that prioritized self-promotion over policy substance. —Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026

Smelling blood, Republicans circled, accusing her of self-promotion and corruption. —Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-promotion

• locomotion
• commotion
• demotion
• devotion
• emotion
• laotian
• promotion
• lotion
• notion
• ocean
• potion