Definition of self-supportnext
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 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
  • Asif suggested the Houthis and some Iraqi militias might now act with substantial independence from Iran.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has thrown her weight behind the Zurich-premiering My Home of Wind and Sand, an important and affecting documentary following a young woman’s fight for her community’s independence.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Which is something that Carney says Canada doesn’t want anyway, in the interests of maintaining its own sovereignty and autonomy.
    — Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
  • An employee can want autonomy and still want to know exactly what success looks like.
    — Jeff LeBlanc, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • At the same time, the economic self-sufficiency services division, the core DCF department tasked with determining eligibility and fielding questions from public assistance recipients, shrank.
    — Sharmila Venkatasubban, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
  • But China's efforts to build up self-sufficiency have reduced the threat to its domestic market from global trade developments.
    — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Self-support.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-support. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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