as in independence
the ability to care for one's self
hopes to achieve full self-support within a year of graduating from college
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Recent Examples of self-support
Garmire has been setting FKTs for more than a decade, with career highlights including unsupported or self-supported records on the John Muir Trail in California, Vermont’s Long Trail, the Colorado Trail, the Wonderland Trail in Washington, and the Arizona Trail.
—
Outside, 26 Sep. 2025
In one show of self-support, the supplies store that many of the RAD’s artists used — Cheap Joe’s — has been taken over, renamed and reopened by a new couple, Philip and Tina DeAngelo, who already owned a studio in the RAD.
—Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2025
And for the public, keep it to low-risk self-support — journaling prompts, CBT-style reflections and light coaching — wrapped in clear disclaimers and with instant handoffs to a human whenever risk appears.
—John Samuels, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
But the idea of hiking the PCT self-supported has been percolating for about five years.
—Emily Lapointe, Outside Online, 1 May 2025
Dreyer intended to swim self-supported about 83 miles across Lake Michigan, an ultra-endurance feat expected to take at least 72 hours.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2024
Since the self-support era, Tokyo has introduced at least one new plan a decade to improve rural development.
—Fritz Schumann, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2015
Outside, 26 Sep. 2025
In one show of self-support, the supplies store that many of the RAD’s artists used — Cheap Joe’s — has been taken over, renamed and reopened by a new couple, Philip and Tina DeAngelo, who already owned a studio in the RAD.
—Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2025
And for the public, keep it to low-risk self-support — journaling prompts, CBT-style reflections and light coaching — wrapped in clear disclaimers and with instant handoffs to a human whenever risk appears.
—John Samuels, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
But the idea of hiking the PCT self-supported has been percolating for about five years.
—Emily Lapointe, Outside Online, 1 May 2025
Dreyer intended to swim self-supported about 83 miles across Lake Michigan, an ultra-endurance feat expected to take at least 72 hours.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2024
Since the self-support era, Tokyo has introduced at least one new plan a decade to improve rural development.
—Fritz Schumann, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-support
Noun
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The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 Apr. 2026
-
No company embodies the American ideas of freedom, independence, perseverance and individuality more than Harley-Davidson.—
Ricardo Torres,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Beiruty follows Andrea across seven years, threading stop-motion animation through a sustained dialogue with her subject about autonomy, compromise and self-determination.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
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The report arrives as Yale and its Ivy League peers are under pressure from multiple directions — not just a skeptical public, but a federal government that has used funding as a direct lever against campus autonomy.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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To protect itself from the impact of the war, Africa must focus on integration and continental self-sufficiency, even as the rest of the world fragments, a major regional study said.—
Yinka Adegoke,
semafor.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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These are among some of the largest models out there and underscore how China’s biggest tech players are advancing their own AI semiconductor technology as Beijing intensifies its push for self-sufficiency.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-support.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-support. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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